santa fe rabbit road fire
on saturday afternoon, around 3 pm, a fire erupted near the intersection of st. francis and rabbit rd, the area also known as, “the end of st. francis.” authorities were initially claiming that it was a brush fire, but as firemen entered the scene, they could quickly tell that fuel and composites were being consumed by flame by the mere color of the plume of smoke. a brush fire would have been a brown smoke to a light haze. the smoke from this fire was pitch black at first, then continued on with a gray smoke mixed in, indicated gasoline, oil, plastics, etc were being burned.
the fire started in what is know as “the rabbit road junkyard.” the fire quickly spread to the surrounding area and consumed a nearby house. the rabbit road junkyard is an area, on a lot near houses on all sides that contains nearly 2000 abandoned cars; see google maps for the unbelievable image. nearby residents have often complained to the city about the abandoned cars as an eye-sore and as a hazard to name a few.
the area was evacuated from the railroad tracks to the bend at i25 on rabbit road by the sherif’s dept., beginning around 3:30 pm. a shelter was being set up at the chavez center for the displaced residents, just in case the fire raged longer and damaged more homes. the fire was put out around 5:30 this evening and the area is still closed off while authorities continue their investigation and ensure no embers remain to reignite the fire.
from the new mexican sunday am: sparks from an electric grinder, fabricating steel, caused the fire. the sparks ignited nearby dry grass. high winds quickly spread the fire, catching the abandoned cars on fire.
Labels: brush fire, car fire, fire, house fire, new mexico, rabbit road fire, santa fe
posted by at large in santa fe @ 6:44 PM
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