BOSQUE FARMS, N.M. (KRQE) – People are returning to their homes near Bosque Farms, after strong winds fueled a wildfire that burned across private property and the Bosque Thursday night. While the fire is under control now, neighbors say what happened has them nervous about the dry season.
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The New Mexico Forestry Division said the Rio Grande Fire is technically 10% contained, but crews are mainly just mopping up hot spots on Friday. Neighbors say the fire got big, quickly Thursday night. “We could see the smoke very plainly…And with the fire trucks around, it was kind of a surreal look,” said Valerie Wells, Bosque Farms resident.
It’s the first major wildfire in the metro this season, threatening homes in Bosque Farms. Living close to where it happened, Valerie Wells said her mother was home alone when she got the alarming call that evacuations were underway.
“Hoping that we have a home to come back to and hoping that everybody that’s affected by this is safe and okay,” said Wells.
The Valencia County Fire Department said it sparked on the west side of the Bosque, then jumped the river, where it moved toward private homes. The New Mexico Forestry Division is now overseeing the investigation and said they don’t know what caused it, but it quickly burned around 60 acres. At least three structures were damaged. “The winds yesterday were large and last night they calmed down a little bit, but they were still persistent enough that we left, crews were working the fire all night,” said George Ducker, New Mexico Forestry Division spokesperson.
With wind whipping the fire quickly, some people between Lillie Road north to Truchas Lane were forced to evacuate for a short time overnight. Although evacuations have all been lifted, police are asking people to be mindful of fire crews. “If they don’t need to go in there right now because there’s still a large fire activity in there, fire crews are still in there, they’re still processing, they’re still looking for hot spots,” said Chief Andrew Owen, Bosque Farms Police Department.
The Forestry Division said they have seen the number of fires nearly double from this time last year, saying that they’ve seen about 300 fire starts so far in 2025. Crews are hoping that possible rain in the area could help their efforts on Saturday. They’re urging neighbors to be mindful, though, as the winds have picked up again on Friday.