Bacalar, Q.R. — In José María Morelos, just south of Tulum, ongoing brush fires have kept municipal personnel extremely busy. José Teodoro Canto González, head of the municipality’s firefighting unit, reported an increase in fires.
“Yesterday we attended to more than six calls for help from burning weeds. It is happening a lot,” he said. Some of the fires attended to “have arisen from the burning of cornfields that become out of control,” he added.
He says people who want to burn should refer to the National Forestry Commission (Conafor) beforehand. Some of these out of control burns have made their way to the highway, causing a scare for drivers who do not expect to see the brush smoldering.
Tedodor says they have had at least 20 of these already this season, all of which, have been extinguished.
Further down the highway in Bacalar, other forest fires continue to burn. The State Center for Fire Management says more than 970 hectares has been effected by the Chunek II fire in Bacalar.
Forest fire fighters are also battling other area fires. A 20-hectare burn at El Novato, a 40-hectare fire at El Limonar and a 30-hectare blaze at El Tasiste, all in the municipality of Bacalar.
The agency says there is also one 10-hectare fire at Brisas northeast of Playa del Carmen that they are continuing to work on. To date, at least 15 forest fires have been counted across the state.