An arson suspect in Wednesday's Bosque fire is facing felony charges.
A Bosque fire was reported at 4:36 p.m. Wednesday. It was the closest a Bosque fire has been to UNM this year.
Officials said it was a man-made fire, which burned about 17 acres in the Bosque. The suspect who confessed to the fire has been charged with two fourth-degree felonies, including negligent arson and starting a fire on state land. He is in custody at the Bernalillo County Detention Center.
According to AFD Captain Gil Santistevan, the suspect said he walked into the Bosque to have a beer, saw a cigarette butt, lit it up, and threw it back out.
Two employees of Bueno Foods reported seeing a man run out of the Bosque as they watched, the fire begin to grow rapidly, said Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. Using two-way radios, the men alerted a deputy stationed at a traffic post, White said.
About 75 personnel arrived to combat the fire, including people from the Bernalillo County Fire Department, Los Ranchos, the state forest service and Red Rocks.
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After several fires in the Bosque this year, AFD Chief Robert Ortega said they are getting very good at responding to them.
The plan was a patrol system, he said. The state forest service dedicated two helicopters to immediate response and were on the scene as quickly as firefighters, Ortega said.
"Within 20 minutes of the fires, we had it down," he said. "The smoke was turning white at that point, we were making initial attacks and water drops, and the effect is evident."
Employees were evacuated from the National Hispanic Cultural Center as well as Bueno Foods, but no damage was done to any structure.
Mayor Martin Ch†vez said Mother Nature was on their side today, he said. Had the wind been blowing the incident would have been a disaster and structures would have been lost.
He said fires in the Bosque might be preventable if the federal government did not keep the city from intervening on 200-300 acres of dry bush inhabited by endangered species. He said he is frustrated with the federal government and the city would like to clear the species out of area rich with fire fuel.
"We know our job has been complicated because the federal government will not let us clear this part of the Bosque," Ch†vez said. "That's going to be a topic of some very serious conversation with the feds tomorrow."
The Bosque is set to close this Friday because of high fire danger, but early closure is possible. Santistevan said partial and full closings are being considered, but given how dry the Bosque is and when the weather not improving, that decision appears evident.
"It looks like the full closure is going to be more immediate," Santistevan said. "It is prudent for people to stay out of the Bosque area."
The fire was contained at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, and fire crews will be monitoring the grounds throughout the evening.
