Officers have arrested a woman who they reportedly saw setting fires in the bosque in Southwest Albuquerque on Wednesday morning.
Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said the helicopter unit helped find the woman shortly after 10 a.m. in the bosque area of Second SW between Southern and Woodward.
“Responding officers witnessed her igniting a fire, and they took her into custody,” Gallegos wrote in an email.
He did not identify the woman or say what she will be charged with.
Carlos Hernandez, 70, was running on the bosque trails when he saw the fire and, along with another man, attempted to put it out.
He said he then saw police rush past him and take a woman into custody. Hernandez said it was sad to see the fire and he urged everyone to be alert and careful.
“New Mexico is beautiful but with all the fires and everything the bosque is one of the last strongholds we have close,” Hernandez said. “It’s a beautiful place, there’s a lot of wildlife out here. When I saw the fire I was thinking of all the porcupines, the animals…”