NM Firefighters Battle Massive Fire in Vacant Country Club

Oct. 5, 2019
Flames from the vacant building on the golf course in Rio Rancho could be seen for miles as firefighters battled the blaze from the exterior after the roof collapsed.

Oct. 5. -- Firefighters battled a huge structure fire at the old golf course in Rio Rancho on Friday night.

Lt. Jessica Duron-Martinez, a Rio Rancho Fire Rescue spokeswoman, said crews were dispatched around 8 p.m. to a large building engulfed in flames at the vacant Chamisa Hills Country Club, north of Golf Course and Southern.

She said no injuries to civilians or firefighters were reported. Duron-Martinez said the roof had collapsed, making entry impossible for firefighters, who fought the blaze from the outside with hoses from two ladder trucks.

Despite their efforts, she said the blaze was still very active and moving into unburned portions of the building late Friday.

"We are trying to contain it to where it's at right now," Duron-Martinez said.

The cause will be investigated once the fire is extinguished.

Duron-Martinez said the site has been vacant for at least a few years.

Neighbors watched as crews fought the giant flames that produced billowing gray clouds of smoke and a glow that could be seen for miles.

___ (c)2019 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.)

Visit the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) at www.abqjournal.com

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