Town confirms Sunday fire was caused by transient
Firefighters responded to a blaze that started along Salazar Road in Taos just after noon Sunday (May 22). Police, including tribal units, were dispatched to the area to shut down Salazar Road, according to reports heard over Taos Central Dispatch channels.
“We’re getting pretty up-close and personal with the flames,” one firefighter said over his radio after arriving on scene.
“What do you need?” another first responder asked.
All fire units in Taos were called to the scene, along with firefighters from Rio Fernando Fire Department.
At least two firefighters pulled away from the fire and were being assessed on scene. One first responder called for an ambulance that took one firefighter to Holy Cross Medical Center, according to dispatch radio reports. Town officials did not comment on the condition of the firefighter as of press time Wednesday (May 25).
Reports also indicate at least one structure was involved. The size of the fire appeared to have been less than 1 acre.
The fire took place on one of Dane Bigbee’s properties, which is at the end of Hatchery Road. According to his neighbors on Zia Circle and at the Pentecostal Church, the properties belonging to Bigbee have been the site of transient camps in recent weeks.
Zia Circle resident Joann Gonzales said, “People buy rooms like at the shelter. At the shelter, they have rooms there for them. Over here, this man lets them live for free because there’s no rules. There’s no rules over here. He feels sorry for them. But he’s putting all of us in danger here by doing that.”
Gonzales also went on to talk about her frustration with local government in dealing with all the brush along their fencing. “There’s more dry trees in there ... The trees are even on top of our fences over here already. Or they have fallen already because they’re dead.”
She said the ditch and the brush that runs along the property on the other side of the fence doesn’t belong to anybody, and nobody has stepped up to clean it out.
The Pentecostal churchgoers were some of the first people on scene trying to help put out the flames. During service, they heard “fire” and rushed out to grab hoses to prevent the fire from spreading out as far as their church.
According to Pastor Paul Flores, his congregation “held back the fire from there to here.” According to multiple Pentecostal worshipers, they were concerned about a box of ammo in a camp tent catching on fire, which would result in shrapnel scattering in all directions.
Firefighters had the fire under control, were clearing the scene and reopening Salazar Road by 4:10 p.m.
Taos Volunteer Fire Department did not respond to additional requests for information about the cause of the fire, but Town of Taos
Interim-Manager Andrew Gonzales said in Tuesday’s council meeting (May 24) that the blaze started in a transient camp.
“It’s a great time now to address homelessness and vagrant issues that we’re having within the community,” said Gonzales. “Yes, there’s an absolute need to help some of these individuals out, [but] it’s a very big burden to the Town of Taos for remediation efforts to get some of this stuff cleaned up.”
Gonzales referenced 40 tons of trash that were recently pulled from a drainage canal in the town.
Mayor Maestas acknowledged it was “a fine line” when trying to balance the needs of the homeless community and the local residents.
“We’re trying to support people and their personal battles and progression to make themselves better, and at the same time, we’ve gotten to a place where now we are endangering, not just property, but other people’s lives,” he said. “This is a much larger community conversation.”