Several homes torched, firefighters injured in Los Lunas blaze

Multiple homes went up in flames and several firefighters were injured after a bosque fire pushed into a Los Lunas neighborhood Saturday afternoon.

Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp said the Cotton Fire had burned up to 200 acres in the bosque and consumed “half a block” worth of homes on Las Rosas Road, which butts up against the west side of the Rio Grande, south of the Main Street bridge.

Propp said 12 firefighters were treated for “smoke and heat injuries” and at least two were sent to a hospital in Albuquerque.

George Ducker, New Mexico State Forestry spokesman, said there were 100 structures threatened by the blaze as of Saturday evening.

Valencia firefighters were called out to the fire around 3:30 p.m.

“The wind conditions were erratic, so our fire behavior has been pretty uncontrollable in the bosque. At this point... we’re starting to actually be able to engage the fire,” Propp said around 6:30 p.m.

He said they were having an air tanker — an aircraft often used on remote wildfires — flown out for slurry drops to help extinguish the flames and protect homes. Propp warned people to stay away from the area, as the slurry drops can cause injury.

He said the fire is believed to be human-caused, and there had been reports of a person seen fleeing the area where it was believed to have been set.

“There’s no other factor in the area. The question is only going to be whether it was intentional or unintentional,” Propp said. “We have an arson task force that’s being formed between local resources and the State Fire Marshal’s office, and they’ll be investigating once we can start to get things under control.”

He asked that the public stay out of the area as some people were “getting in the way” and stalling firefighting efforts. Several agencies, including Albuquerque Fire Rescue and Bernalillo County Fire Rescue, were assisting.

Over social media, videos showed large plumes of smoke rising from the Carson Park area of Los Lunas, with flames seen leaping off the roofs of several homes.