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Arson suspected as new fire sparks latest round of evacuations in Los Lunas
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LOS LUNAS — At least one new fire began Sunday, hours after another one destroyed a dozen homes and injured several firefighters, and they appear to be “human caused,” according to the fire chief.
“We’ve had two new starts (in the bosque) ... which means we have an arsonist in the bosque starting fires,” Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp told the Valencia County News-Bulletin on Sunday morning.
He said the state fire marshal, New Mexico State Police and other agencies are investigating the Cotton Fire, which started Saturday, and the Cotton 2 Fire that was discovered on the west side of the Rio Grande on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
The blazes, called the Desert Willow Complex Fire, have burned 260 acres, damaged more than 50 structures and evacuations have affected about 1,300 residents, according to a Sunday night update from the New Mexico Forestry Division. The fire was 0% contained.
Eight people affected by Saturday’s Cotton Fire were staying at the housing shelter inside the Daniel Fernandez Recreational Center, 1103 N.M. 314 in Los Lunas, American Red Cross of Arizona & New Mexico spokesperson Georgi Donchetz said.
Los Lunas resident Rosa Bustillos was not among them. Instead, she sat outside her home off Las Rosas Drive in Carson Park with her family Sunday morning, looking back at a hectic 24 hours.
At about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Bustillos was home when it caught fire. When firefighters arrived, they told her to leave, but she refused. She took out a water hose and helped fight a fire in the back of her house — with the help of her son and son-in-law — before taking her puppies, her son’s medicine, clothes and paperwork and evacuating, Bustillos’ daughter Perla Delgado said.
Bustillos’ home was partially burnt and received smoke and water damage, but many of their neighbors’ homes on Las Rosas were destroyed.
“It feels unreal,” Bustillos said.
A couple of miles northeast of her home, plumes of smoke filled the sky.
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At about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, the Valencia County Fire Department told people on Peach Blossom Road, Orange Blossom Street and Mountain Laurel Street, east of the Rio Grande, to evacuate. After 3 p.m., residents off Forgotten Promise Lane in Peralta were told to leave.
“If you see anyone suspicious in the bosque area, please call law enforcement and get a description of any persons seen,” the Valencia County Fire Department wrote in a social media post.
Propp said there were reports of a person fleeing from the site of the fire that started on Saturday.
Saturday’s fire caused 12 firefighters to be treated for “smoke and heat injuries,” he said. At least two of them were sent to an Albuquerque hospital.
The fire complex has destroyed nine structures, four other structures received major damage and one had minor damage. There were also 36 structures that were affected by smoke or slurry drops.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced on Saturday the state is receiving federal emergency funding to send additional firefighters and resources to battle the fires.
“I’m deeply grateful to the firefighters and first responders who continue to battle this fire under challenging circumstances,” she said in a statement. “Additional resources are on the way to enhance local firefighting capacity and protect our communities.”
