Tulum’s battle against the first 2023 forest fire: how the community is responding
The authorities of the Tulum Civil Protection Coordination and the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR) are working to mitigate the first forest fire of the 2023 season, which is occurring in the Mayan community of San Juan de Dios and has already destroyed 75 hectares of jungle.
Jessica Jaqueline Martinez Barrios, coordinator of municipal civil protection, explained that at the beginning of this week, they became aware of this blaze. She detailed that 10 CONAFOR elements assigned to the ninth municipality and three more under her charge are fighting this disaster, but due to its dimensions, mitigation actions will be reinforced with 10 more elements from CONAFOR in Playa del Carmen.
The interviewee stated that this fire has spread since the garbage in the area, such as plastic bottles and others, has fueled the flames, added to the dry vegetation due to the heat season.
Out-of-control burn in Tulum-Coba
Martinez Barrios recalled that a few weeks ago, the satellite radar they have detected a probable fire at the Jabalí ranch located on the Tulum-Coba road, which turned out to be an out-of-control burn. She mentioned that after detecting it, the owner was instructed to extinguish it before it reached forest magnitude.
Call for citizens
The municipal official announced that the Tulum Civil Protection Coordination is attentive to reports and will act against those responsible if they are caused intentionally. She expressed that it is important for citizens to report this type of activity, as this prevents forest fires in the municipal geography.
Likewise, she urged citizens to avoid littering, especially glass objects, as they contribute to the magnifying glass effect, and lit cigarette butts, as they are the main cause of fires in the jungles.
