Riviera Maya, Q.R. — The National Forestry Commission (Conafor) says 570 hectares of forest have been burned this season. A total of 10 forest fires around the state so far this season have been responsible.
The largest fire to date continues in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco with a preliminary fire impact on 344 hectares.
According to the official report, the Santa Cruz fire is 100 percent controlled and 80 percent extinguished. Forest fire Jas, which remains active in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, is 70 precent controlled.
Jas, which began burning earlier this week, is located 15 kilometers northwest of the coastal community of Xcalak, south of Mahahual.
According to the National Forestry Commission, Jas is 70 percent controlled and 60 percent extinguished and has consumed an area comprised of grasslands and medium-height forest.
Because the area impacted by the fire is located within the boundaries of the Manatee Sanctuary State Reserve, a high environmental priority ecosystem, fire management operations are carried out under a strict inter-institutional coordination scheme.
This joint strategy allows combatants to focus their priority efforts on the comprehensive protection of natural resources, halting the advance of the most active fronts and mitigating the risks of ecological damage to the habitat of protected species in the region.
To expedite the work in hard-to-reach areas, a helicopter from the Ministry of National Defense began air support operations with firefighting technical personnel on board, carrying out strategic reconnaissance flights over the perimeter of the fire to detect hidden hotspots.
Simultaneously, combat personnel were transferred by sea to enable a temporary helipad near the active flanks of the fire, a maneuver that optimizes transfer times and guarantees a safe ascent and descent scheme for the brigade members.
According to Comisión Nacional Forestal, as of May 21, there are 50 active wildfires around Mexico. They include the state of Jalisco with 10, Oaxaca with seven and Chiapas and Guerrero with six each. In the last few hours, firefighters extinguished 16 fires in Jalisco, Chihuahua, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas.
