Tulum, Q.R. — Approximately half a hectare of reserve jungle was consumed by a forest fire Friday. Residents helped local authorities put out the first that started in the Sian Ka’an Reserve Friday afternoon.
Thick smoke was noticed by area residents around 4:00 p.m. who notified local authorities. Citizen brigades, Civil Protection personnel and the Tulum Fire Department worked fast to extinguish the flames that were quickly devouring the dry trees.
The fire occurred near kilometer 11 of the Boca Paila highway. According to witnesses, the flames spread fast due to the accumulation of dry jungle vegetation.
“We saw the smoke rising from the forest and organized ourselves to combat it before it grew any larger. The fire was spreading very quickly but we managed to stop it with firebreaks,” said one of the members of the civil brigade who participated with other emergency responders.
Municipal Civil Protection and Tulum firefighters arrived on the scene to reinforce the firefighting efforts. Together with the resident volunteers of the civil brigade, they built firebreaks that prevented the flames from spreading to areas with denser vegetation.
A cause for the afternoon forest first in the Sian Ka’an Reserve is still being looked into.
