City taking extra precaution during Balloon Fiesta
Posted at: 10/04/2012 7:24 PM
By: Stuart Dyson, KOB Eyewitness News 4
There will be no shortage of police, firefighters and paramedics at this year's Balloon Fiesta. For ten days the Fiesta Park in far north Albuquerque will be the second largest city in New Mexico.
It will have its share of problems and it will have more than its share of the people we count on to handle those problems.
There will be cops from Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, Rio Rancho and State Police, too, along with firefighters from departments around the metro area.
FBI agents and Homeland Security officers will also be stationed at the Fiesta. The National Guard is even standing by in case of any real big emergencies.
"The moment we have an incident develop, we have a plan in place to deal with any kind of problem that we might have or might occur," Fiesta public safety director Al Tetrault said.
They've had 22 years at the Fiesta Park to figure this thing out. Probably the biggest problem is drivers who just can't seem to keep their eyes on the road in front of them.
"We know you want to look up and look at the balloons and look at all the events," said Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz. "
Fiesta organizers expect about 800,000 visitors to the park for this year's event. Memo to the stick-fingers crowd: there will be plenty of cops working under cover at the Fiesta, and bait cars and surveillance cameras too.
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