Romero Fire In Corrales

Bruce E-Mailed with the bad news this morning:

Fire crews are still battling the Romero fire burning in the Corrales bosque Thursday and say hot spots continue to pose threats to their containment.

The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday afternoon, officials estimated it had burned 359 acres.

I replied:

Oh no!

Well, crap, it's understandable. So dry, and all that fuel just laying around, and river access at Romero Road, so any idiot can drop a match. And the river isn't very wide there either, so the fire can easily jump the river too.

Left: The Rio Grande River at Corrales' Romero Road bosque access. The Sandia Mountains loom in the background.

Here is a picture of the river in the bosque at the end of Romero Road in August, 2010.

The river here is showing signs of retrenchment, with the water running about three feet below the bank on the opposite side. The bank has been here long enough that Russian Olive Trees have had a chance to grow to maturity in the middle distance - that has got to be at least ten years!

Note how narrow the gap across the river, and prone to spreading fire from flying sparks.