KOBTV4 - The Velarde Volunteer Fire Chief is arrested while a brush fire burns, because of a fight about who was in charge of the scene.
Residents and fire crews on scene complained to KOB Eyewitness News 4 about how Fire Chief Eddie Velarde handled the situation, some describing him as "out of control."
No one at the scene would go on camera to talk about Velarde's arrest but people who lived at the edge of the three acre brush fire near the small village of Lyden say Chief Velarde yelled and cursed at them when they were trying to protect their property with water hoses. The residents said the chief threatened to let the whole place burn if they didn't follow his orders.
Deputies with the Rio Arriba County Sheriffs Department say they tried to tell Velarde to calm down repeatedly and eventually told him they were taking over the scene.
But then Velarde allegedly tried to order crews to stop fighting the fire and leave, challenging deputies to arrest him—which they did.
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Chief Gets Arrested as Sheriff Takes Command