LAS CRUCES, NM (KTSM) – On Monday, the Las Cruces Fire Department says 11 fires were started within a 12 hour span all within 18 blocks of one another.
One was a brush fire, and the rest dumpster fires.
“This amount of dumpster fires in such a small area in such a short amount of time is not common this makes us believe that obviously someone is igniting these dumpster fires,” said Jason Smith the Fire Chief for Las Cruces.
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Smith says the first fire was reported around 1 a.m. and the last dumpster fire was reported around 1 p.m.
“They left the area and they got a report of another dumpster fire just a short distance away and then after a little bit of time the one that they already put close to 250 gallons of water on somehow reignited and they had to go back and overhaul that,” said Smith.
A construction worker, working on a job in downtown says he showed up to work to find the dumpster in front of his job site on fire.
“On my way to work were working here at parking lot 7, driving on the other side of “Zeffiro’s” (Pizza restaurant in downtown) I saw a trash can on fire and then pulling up to the Jobsite this trash can here was on fire as well,” said Daniel Cordova a construction project superintendent.
Back on April 20, two vehicles were set on fire in downtown Las Cruces on 311 Main at Firestone, which the Las Cruces Fire Department says is near where the dumpster fires were started.
“The fire involving two vehicles was nearby and in the same vicinity as these dumpster fires that occurred early Monday morning,” said Smith.
