BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – Hoping to stop new fires and other problems in the Albuquerque bosque, the Bernalillo County Sheriff is now using drones to figure out where people are camping and eventually kick them out. “It was all the illegal narcotics, and when we went down there, we saw all the trash, needles, people being harassed who live there in the area,” said Sheriff John Allen, Bernalillo County.
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It’s a problem in the bosque that the Bernalillo County Sheriff said is getting worse. Now, for the first time, BCSO deputies are cracking down on encampments in Albuquerque’s urban forest. “And then with the fires that have been happening, we have people lighting fires down there also, that is not good,” said Sheriff Allen.
Over the last month, Albuquerque’s seen four fires sparked in the bosque, and investigators believe at least two of those were set intentionally. Meanwhile, some South Valley neighbors say they’re getting worried. “There’s been so many homeless encampments, there’s been so many fires, you can’t go for walks with your kids anymore, you’re constantly running into people that are either lighting the fires, doing drugs,” said Danielle Garcia, South Valley resident…