Los Lunas fires allegedly caused by tossed cigarette

Authorities say the suspect in a devastating fire told an acquaintance he wanted to show his children how fast fire can spread. The man said he did so by flicking a lit cigarette into the Rio Grande bosque behind a stretch of homes.

The result, according to Valencia County deputies, was the Cotton Fire 1, a blaze that jumped into an adjacent neighborhood and torched nearly a dozen homes. Hundreds were forced to flee with whatever belongings they could gather at a moment’s notice.

The suspect, 31-year-old Jacob LaHair, of Los Lunas, was taken into custody Wednesday and charged with one count of negligent arson and one count of criminal damage to property over $1,000. The charges are fourth-degree felonies.

LaHair’s attorney was not available for comment Thursday.

A criminal complaint filed in Los Lunas Magistrate Court unveiled the first details as to how authorities believe the fire began.

“Jacob LaHair advised (a witness) he started the fire by demonstrating to his children how fast cotton burns and proceeded to flick his cigarette onto the cotton located in the bosque,” according to the criminal complaint. The witness told deputies that LaHair “was laughing and making jokes” about starting the blaze.

Firefighters responded to a wildfire call at 2:36 p.m. in the riverside forest before the flames jumped to homes along Las Rosas Road, on the west side of the Rio Grande, south of the Main Street bridge.

The initial fire was joined by another on Sunday, the Cotton Fire 2, which sparked on the opposite side of the river. The two blazes were eventually named the Desert Willow Complex Fire.

On Tuesday, a man reported seeing LaHair walking away from the Cotton 1 Fire. LaHair told the man he was “trying to help stop the fire,” the criminal complaint said. The man’s wife took photos of LaHair as he left the area.

Deputies received another report on Wednesday from a resident who said LaHair told them he lit the fire with a cigarette, according to the complaint. The Valencia County Sheriff’s Office went to look for LaHair at a home where he had been staying.

LaHair “was not being himself,” a woman at the residence told deputies. The woman told deputies that LaHair said on Tuesday he started the fire by accident.

The woman called LaHair and told him authorities wanted to question him about the fire. The complaint states that after an arson investigator got on the phone, LaHair hung up and didn’t answer any calls.

LaHair turned himself in to the Los Lunas Police Department on Wednesday.