Juveniles face arson charges

HOBBS, N.M. Two juveniles were accused of burning down a large warehouse and causing several evacuations Wednesday afternoon in Hobbs, according to a news release from Hobbs police officer Mike Stone.

Hobbs firefighters were called at 12:53 p.m. Mountain time to a 21,000 square foot warehouse at 501 S. Leech St. The release a significant amount of the building was already consumed by the time firefighters arrived and the remaining parts of the warehouse did not appear structurally sound.

Firefighters spent several hours putting out the inferno while police ordered evacuations of the nearby businesses due to the smoke. Several homes and businesses nearby lost power because of the damage the fire caused to nearby power lines.

The release said two juveniles confessed to starting the fire after investigators questioned them. Both of them were charged with arson and were taken to the Juvenile Probation Parole Offie in Hobbs.

The building was built in the 1930s and used to be a grocery warehouse. Until its destruction, it was owned by Caprock Diesel Inc. and used to store truck parts. It was built mostly out of wood and sheet metal.