ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s boots on the ground in the bosque for Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputies, who have spent the last month clearing encampments in the bosque. BCSO said the goal is to prevent fires and protect the bosque for future generations. “We need to address it so that we can make sure there isn’t an out-of-control fire as there have been,” said Sergeant of BCSO’s Open Space Unit Chris Starr.
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BCSO’s Operation Bosque Guardian began earlier this month, cracking down on encampments along the river. “Some of those folks are taking up camp in the bosque, and with that comes the associated mess like you find in all areas along Central, so a lot of trash, a lot of drug use, a lot of criminal behavior,” said Starr.
This summer, Albuquerque has seen at least five bosque fires in the metro. Investigators believe some were started intentionally. “They make fires for heating and for cooking, and a lot of times those fires get out of control quickly,” said Starr.
BCSO has been patrolling the bosque using drones and helicopters to find the camps. “We can still see some heat signatures and advise them hey, this heavily wooded area we’re getting heat signatures in this specific pocket. They’ll be able to hike them in, we’ll guide them to it, and then they’ll get right to the camp,” said Deputy Pilot for the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Metro Air Support Unit Jeremy Sanchez.
Starr said even though camping in the bosque is illegal, they’ve found dozens of homeless camps since the operation began. Clearing them out is a multi-department effort with the City of Albuquerque’s Solid Waste Department assisting with clean-ups, along with the department’s mental health unit also playing a role, working to connect anyone found in the camp with support services. Deputies issue people camping a warning, but so far they have not made any arrests.
“We wanted to have a more substantial impact to protect the bosque for future generations, but also to get these people the services they could use and hopefully move them out of the bosque,” said Starr.
BCSO said the areas they typically find camps are near Rio Bravo Blvd., Bridge Blvd., and Central Ave. The operation is set to last through September.
