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With the July Fourth holiday a week away, Albuquerque and Bernalillo County announced Tuesday a partial closure of the Rio Grande bosque as neighboring counties decided to close their bosque altogether due to extreme fire danger.
Bernalillo County officials said starting at 8 a.m. Friday, visitors should stay on the bike path, levy roads and established dirt paths that meander through the bosque. They should not go off the paths into the forest.
The same rules apply to the city and county’s open space areas.
Meanwhile, the bosque in Sandoval, Valencia and Socorro counties will close completely.
Cyclists exit the Alameda parking area and enter the bosque bike trail Tuesday evening. Unlike neighboring counties, county and city fire departments are leaving the bosque partially open in hopes hikers and bikers will spot small fires before they grow. (Jim Thompson/Journal)
Bernalillo County fire chiefs said Tuesday a partial closure rather than a complete closure would be more effective in preventing fires, since hikers and bikers can alert fire departments to potential wildfires.
“Totally closing the bosque would not serve us well,” Bernalillo County fire chief John Garcia said. “When (citizens) see a fire in its incipient stage, it doesn’t produce a lot of smoke.”
Garcia said bosque users already have prevented three fires in the area this summer by alerting the fire department, and he encourages citizens to call at the first sight of smoke.
“We’d rather get a call for something they presume is smoke than not call at all,” Garcia said.
In Sandoval, Valencia and Socorro counties, county representatives and the State Forestry Department decided a full closure was necessary because of fire risk.
“We wanted to preserve the safety not only of the people but of the bosque, as well,” Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District spokesman Tom Thorpe said.
A fast-moving bosque fire ignited June 20, scorching almost 300 acres in Corrales before being extinguished a day later. Fire officials identified the blaze as human-caused.
The closures come after drought conditions and high temperatures that leave the bosque areas in extreme fire danger. Afternoon temperatures are expected to hit the high 90s, with little to no rain forecast.
- For news on wildfires around the state, visit abqjournal.com/fires
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at plohmann@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3943
