Here come the bikers!
Thousands of bikers expected in Grants today for Fire & Ice Rally

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Grants Police Chief Marty Vigil said he expects a few more than 5,000 people to visit Grants this weekend for the annual Fire & Ice Motorcycle Rally.

The three-day event, starting today, will see a lot of visitors return each day through Sunday, he said.

"We want everyone to be safe and if you are going to drink, drink responsibly.

"There will be zero tolerance this weekend for DWIs, drinking in public, public nudity and motorcycle racing," he said.

If a fight breaks out, Vigil said officers will "handle it."

A number of law enforcement agencies from across the state are joining with Grants Police to provide a safe event for the visitors, the moms and dads with their kids, as well as the hundreds if not thousands of bikers.

"This city is only so big," he said, "We can't accommodate another 4-5,000 people." There is only so much space, he said.

Law enforcement agencies assisting
Law enforcement agencies are sending anywhere from one to several officers to assist with patrolling and securing the rally. Those agencies include: Cibola County Sheriff's Department, Milan Police, pueblos of Acoma and Laguna police departments, Ramah Police, McKinley County Sheriff's Department, Bosque Farms Police, Bernalillo Police, Tucumcari Police, New Mexico State Police, New Mexico Department of Corrections, Cibola County Detention Center as well as the federal agencies: National Parks, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

The state police's special investigations division will also have officers at the event, Vigil said. Grants officers will also be on bicycle patrols and K-9 units will be on duty.

Grants Police Lt. Maxine Spidle, the law enforcement coordinator for the event, said there will be officers on duty and on patrol every minute of each day at Fire & Ice throughout the weekend.

"Cibola County Sheriff's deputies will help Grants police officers respond to calls within the city that are not related to the event," Vigil said. The city will have officers on patrol as usual, he said.

The Cibola County Sheriff's Department will bring its mobile command post to the event downtown and will be using it for officers to work out of, Vigil said.

Anyone who is arrested will be processed at the Grants Fire and Rescue Department across High Street north of City Park, he said.

Streets closed
Several streets will be closed as of 7 a.m. today through 6 p.m. Sunday, Spidle said.

Streets that are closed for the event include the westbound lane of Santa Fe Avenue, from Fourth Street west to the post office. All traffic, eastbound and westbound will be redirected to single lanes, in the two lane eastbound lane of Santa Fe Avenue. High Street will be closed in both east and west directions from Fourth Street to Lead Avenue.

Grants Police already have two Segway transports, the two-wheeled futuristic looking vehicles that allow one officer to patrol while riding and can move up to 30 mph. Six others have been rented for the event. Most will be used by Grants officers since they are almost all trained on the vehicles, Spidle said.

"I would like to commend Lt. Spidle for her excellent work in coordinating the logistics of all the participating law enforcement agencies and for the officers' for housing and the scheduling," Vigil said.

"Have fun, but be safe," he said.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197, or e-mail-jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.