They linked the alleged person responsible for the fire in the La Primavera forest in Jalisco to the trial

They linked to the trial the man arrested who allegedly caused the fire in the La Primavera forest, in Jalisco, on March 23. This was announced by the State Prosecutor's Office this Wednesday, March 30, after a hearing.

In addition, it was announced that the subject, named Juan R, was placed in pre-trial detention for six months for crimes against the environment, while investigations continued. Judge Paúl Alemán Villalobos concluded that, on the basis of information gathered by the expert work of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Directorate of Environmental Crimes, his alleged responsibility was determined.

It should be recalled that Juan “R” was arrested on the same day of the fire: March 23, by elements of the Zapopan police, after they detected the presence of a man who was setting fire to several mounds of dry leaves and was therefore apprehended and placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The State Prosecutor's Office also reported that an investigation kit was opened against this person arrested for the fire that lasted approximately 24 hours and affected approximately 287 hectares, that is, 2,287,000 square meters.

However, the governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, announced yesterday that the total damage was 226.51 hectares, that is, 60 hectares less than what was reported by the Public Prosecutor's Office. Of the total area affected, half was of low severity and only 7% was of high impact, he explained.

On the day of the accident, Alfaro commented that the mitigation and control efforts involved more than 200 men and women combatants, as well as 60 units (including pipes, motor pumps and ambulances) and 6 helicopters (one from Semadet, another from the Jalisco Security Secretariat, and three more from Zapopan, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga and Guadalajara, respectively), who collaborated to put out the fire in the Bajío de las Milpillas area.

After 15 hours of work, on the morning of March 24, the fire in the La Primavera Forest was controlled, reported the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Development (Semadet) of the state of Jalisco. And he explained that the Atmospheric Alert that had been activated on Wednesday, March 23 for the municipalities of Zapopan, Guadalajara and Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, was suspended.

And it is that this alert was triggered due to the emissions of pollutants that were generated after the fire, so a series of recommendations were issued in conjunction with the state Ministry of Health, such as not being exposed for a long time in open spaces due to poor air quality, mainly for less than five years, people older adults and people with chronic respiratory diseases.

Faced with this, Alfaro commented that “it is incredible how a person without conscience can do so much harm to our environment and everyone's future”, since the affected area is considered a Protected Natural Area. According to the government of Jalisco, 98% of forest fires in that entity are caused by human activities.

It should also be remembered that March to June is considered to be the critical period for forest fires, so it is recommended not to litter forests, not to light fires and not to throw cigarette butts on the road.

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