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Residents of San Ignacio Santa Elena breathed a little easier today when there was a sudden and strong downpour which roared into the twin towns from the direction of Central farm. Te bad news is that it didn't last long and when the Passover finished sweeping through, the smoke was back. And it's not just smoke, there is still fire in the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve and the aftermath of the fires in the Toledo District is what is most pronounced.
Hundreds of families in dozens of communities have been hit hard, and we got an overview of the vast imprint of the disaster area from the Disaster Risk Management team at a press conference in Belize City this morning. Jomarie Reports.
The unprecedented forest fires occurring in the South and the West are a testament to just how powerful the impacts of climate change can be.
Daniel Mendez, NEMO coordinator
"We noted that continuous high temperatures and low rainfall across the country increases the likelihood of fires across the country. In the Toledo district in particular we saw there were localized fires which developed near the San Pedro Columbia area and these increased significantly during the period for May 14th to 17th. There were also significant increases in central and southern Toledo throughout the period. On the board on the screen you will see the temperatures for the period from the 1st and 27th and in particular I want to highlight to you that this, the peaks, the peak temperatures is actually when we saw most of the fires that started to develop. You will see there are record highs of 107 degrees in the central farm area and this of course was a similar trend across the country. So that in combination with the low rainfall created that condition."
Now NEMO must tally all that has been lost in these past few weeks fire.
Daniel Mendez, NEMO coordinator
"Our damage assessments have been ongoing because this is a situation that has not stopped and there are continuing fires across the country and we have been responding to these issues for the last three weeks. We also have people who responded to fires as of last night and so it's an ongoing operation but what we have been able to gather so far in the Toledo district there are upwards of 400 families which have been impacted by this fire. This is a spread across a space of 28 communities all across the district and up to now our assessments continue but we noted that there are, there's a minimum of 6,000 acres of farmland which have been damaged. There has been also a great loss through damage to the environment and there is a lot of loss to livelihood. We also note that 10 houses have been destroyed in 2 communities; there were 8 in the Graham Creek village and two in San Pedro Columbia. In the mountain pine ridge we also noted that approximately 32k acres were affected in that area however we have not yet been able to begin the assessment of the Cayo district to determine the total impact so far. We will be doing that in the next few days however."
Damage assessment teams have been deployed all over the Toledo district, and are still out gathering data and tending to the needs of the most affected communities. It is a combined effort fraught with the challenges of man versus nature:
Daniel Mendez, NEMO coordinator
"The Ministry Of Infrastructure And Development has deployed several assets across the country. In the Mountain Pine Ridge they deployed three workmen 1 D6 bulldozer, support vehicles and they worked for two weeks clearing a total of 28 miles of fire passes in the Mountain Pine Ridge. In the Tapir mountain reserve we have a team of three operators and 1 D6 bulldozer and they have been in that area also working for four days. We also have another private bulldozer that has been working in that area as well as providing support to the persons in that area. In the Toledo district there is one water truck which has been assisting the fire response in the villages they have been taking extra water because you will see when we share some of the pictures the type of fire fighting requires a significant amounts of water which is not available in these communities because of the low rainfall. Plus they continue for provide support for fire operations and they will stay on they will remain on standby until all of this has passed."
Despite the myriad challenges, NEMO is confident that with the commitment and manpower from all parties and partner agencies short term relief will be effectively distributed.
Daniel Mendez, NEMO coordinator
"The Belize Red Cross has mobilized 62 volunteers across the country. In the Cayo district volunteers provided first aid services directly to community members in the San Antonio Cayo village. where they provided assistance to people fighting fires who experienced exhaustion dehydration, burns, and psychosocial problems. In the Toledo district they have also been providing meals to firefighters, and have been contributing to the damage assessment and needs analysis and also the relief efforts across the country in particular they have been tasked with providing psychosocial support to people who have been impacted by these fires."
