Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — Ongoing forest fires have begun to effect the air around a majority of Playa del Carmen. Jorge Alberto Vázquez Oropeza, the Secretary of Civil Protection, Risk Prevention and Firefighters of Solidaridad says there are currently six fires burning around the municipality that are generating a fair amount of smoke.
Photo: Civil Protection May 26, 2024.
For nearly a month, the fires have continued to consume brush in the Villas del Sol and Pescadores areas of Playa del Carmen. Nearly 40 people are out battling the fires on a daily basis.
One of the fires, he reported, is near the municipal prison and gas station, which increases the risk of danger.
“We are giving priority to risk factors since there is one near the prison where a gas station is located where we have currently put a fire wall,” he said.
Vázquez Oropeza says local firemen from Cancun are also helping to put out the fires. Assistance in fire extinguishing has also come from military personnel since Conafor (Comisión Nacional Forestal) forest firefighters are busy battling a 20,000 hectare fire in another part of the country.
