Four N.M. Firefighters Arrested For Dairy Farm Fire

LAS CRUCES - Four volunteer firefighters were arrested Tuesday morning on charges of setting fire to hay at a Mesquite, N.M. dairy farm the night before, according to Doca Ana Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kelly Jameson.

Luis Gutierrez, Joshua Jaramillo, Carlos Martinez and Junior Perez, firefighters with the Mesquite Fire Department, were booked into the Doca Ana County Detention Center on charges of conspiracy and arson, Jameson said.

The fire at Mountain View Dairy, near Stern Drive and N.M. 228, just south of Las Cruces, was reported around 11:30 p.m. Monday and was so big that fire crews from Mesquite, La Mesa and the South Valley Fire Departments had to let it burn out rather than battle it.

No injuries were reported, nor were any structures damaged, but damages to the more than 400 bales of hay were estimated Tuesday at $120,000.Monday's fire was the latest late-night arson to strike Doca Ana County dairies.

Last year, Ruben Marquez, 22, of Vado, and Javier Ramos Mercado, 25, of Las Cruces, allegedly torched a barn containing 500 tons of hay at Del Monte Dairy in Mesquite, causing about $140,000 in damage.

In January 2009, similar criminal hay fires caused more than $400,000 damage at the Big Sky Dairy at 13290 Stern Drive, and similar damage at the Mountain View Dairy on Stern Drive and New Mexico Highway 228.

The River Valley Dairy at 17800 Stern Drive in Vado also suffered more than $100,000 in damage after a similar arson in March 2008.

Ashley Meeks can be reached at (575) 541-5462; follow her on Twitter @AshleyMeeks.

(11:18 a.m. update)LAS CRUCES - A large hay fire continues to burn this morning near Mesquite, N.M. and Dona Ana Sheriff's Office officials say arrests are pending in the arson investigation.

DASO Public Information Officer Kelly Jameson said the investigation has moved quickly, and arrests are expected shortly.

Check back for updates as they become available. (8:40 a.m. update)LAS CRUCES - A large hay fire continues to burn this morning near Mesquite, N.M. and commuters say thick smoke is still drifting southward.

According to our media partner, KFOX TV, the fire began around 11:30 p.m. Monday and investigators believe arson may be the cause. The fire will be allowed to burn due to a lack of available water. Media reports that the fire, which is visible and is generating a lot of smoke, will likely burn through the day.

Officials tolk KFOX the farmer may have lost as many as 420 bales, valued at $120,000.