Forest fires devastate the Tamaulipas and Nuevo León biosphere

After 12 days of work, only 60% of the forest fire that occurred in the “El Cielo” Biosphere Reserve, located in the municipality of Gómez Farías, Tamaulipas, has been controlled last Wednesday, March 16.

This was stated by the National Forestry Commission (Conafor) in a statement issued on Sunday, March 27. It was also reported that so far there is 40% progress in liquidation work involving members of the Steering Group and the Unified Command.

According to the latest report from Tamaulipas Civil Protection, the affected area covers an area of 710 hectares, mainly on the surface of litter and shrubs. Similarly, there is no record of injured persons or homes affected by the fire.

Elements of Civil Protection, the National Guard, the National Defense and the Conafor have attended this incident that has not yet affected the tall trees of the Reserve. As part of the work, the Tamaulipas government reported that it opened an investigation kit to determine the causes of the fire.

On Sunday, March 27, the director of state Civil Protection, Pedro Granados Ramírez, announced that 342 people were working in the area to put out the fire and a pair of helicopters have been used in air operations. Then, this Monday, March 28, the figure was updated to 401 people.

For its part, Conafor explained that 34 water flushes have been carried out with the two helicopters provided by Sedena and the National Guard.

Earlier, on Thursday, March 24, the head of Sedena, Luis Crescencio Sandoval, reported that they sent an MI-17 helicopter with a helibucket — a kind of bag with a capacity to carry more than a thousand liters of water — belonging to the Mexican Air Force (FAM). He added that military personnel of the 15th Infantry Battalion joined the control tasks.

However, this is not the only active wildfire that has not yet been suppressed. In Nuevo León, in the Sierra de Santiago, more than 300 brigade members from La Sedena, the National Guard, the Conafor and State Civil Protection have carried out mitigation work since last Thursday, February 24.

So far this fire has affected 800 hectares and 35% has been controlled, Conafor reported on Sunday, March 27. Likewise, Civil Protection announced that there is only 15% liquidation in the area and 4 helicopters operate (two belonging to the State Government, another from the GN and one more from Sedena), as well as 35 vehicles and 393 brigade members.

A tour was also carried out in the towns of Lagunillas, El Hondable and Mesa de Oso to install a permanent surveillance team and analyze the progress of the fire. Similarly, so far there are no reports of injured persons or homes affected, but 57 families from the Potrero Redondo community of the Sierra de Santiago have had to be evicted.

Finally, it should be noted that, as of March 28, Conafor has recorded 35 active fires in 14 states, which have affected 3,591 hectares. According to article 420 Bis paragraph 4 of the Federal Penal Code, the penalties for arson are 2 to 10 years 'imprisonment and 300 to 3,000 days fine.

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