Bush fires begin early this year
Fire is a popular topic these days, with the city garbage dump still burning, four buildings in San Ignacio destroyed and a number of homes levelled by both arson and less malicious causes. And that tally doesn’t include the threat of bush fires, which are always a danger during the dry season.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
In the past ten days the National Fire Service has responded to at least fifteen fires just within the city limits alone.
Operations Officer Michael Middleton says because the dry season is expected to last until June, people living in vulnerable areas should take the necessary steps to protect their property.
Michael Middleton, Operations Officer, National Fires Service
?What they need to do is to create a fire pass, which is a clear area without any kind of bush around the perimeter of their land. So if there is a bush fire outside of their land and it starts to reach that fire pass, it won?t go in to where they are actually living.?
This fire burning along the Boom/Hattieville road is no threat to human life or property and will eventually burn out on its own. We are not sure what ignited these particular flames but Middleton says bush fires can have numerous causes.
Michael Middleton
?Sometimes it?s the heat or the different weather conditions. If the relative humidity is low then its much drier than the heat from the sun, the temperature or the reflection might come off from a piece of glass on the dry bush and cause a fire.?
?I think people just have to be more careful and more sensitive about these things. A lot of people believe that they cannot be affected by fires so they just be careless and throw things wherever they want to. Especially in the villages right now, we try to ask people to assist us whenever they see a fire. If they see a fire starting up maybe they can assist us by trying to out it with a piece of leaf or something like that.?
Homeowners are encouraged to keep their surroundings free of dried vegetation and such measures will prevent bush fires from spreading onto their property. But there is not much that can be done to avoid the smoke created by fires in untended areas.
Michael Middleton
?The bush fires, most of them that we have responded to are within Belize City. But we never received calls from those outside Belize City. But maybe in the rural areas in the villages. We would normally get the call when they are threatening houses. It it?s those in the wild, we leave them to burn out on themselves.?
Environmentally, bush fires are not considered harmful as the new growth following burning is part of the natural regeneration of savannah lands. So far this season, there have been no serious injuries or major property damage reported due to bush fires.
The National Meteorological Service says that with the exception of the Stann Creek Valley and Southern Coastal plain, the nation is in the grip of a drought, with the country receiving only fifty percent of normal March rainfall. Hardest hit are the Corozal, Orange Walk and Northern Belize districts, where rainfall has been only ten percent of normal. In related news, Middleton says they have been working around the clock to tend to the underground fire at the city dump on the Western Highway. Although the fire keeps burning, Middleton says they have contained the blaze. Residents and workers in the area, however, are still at risk from inhaling the acrid smoke.
