The rapid spread of the fire is being blamed on the highly combustible dry thatch. We asked the Minister today if it is time for villagers to transition toward fire-resistant roofing materials:
Reporter
"Since this is your village, do you think that this is kind of telling that maybe it's time especially with climate change and with how dry Belize can be sometimes that it's time to change the roofing that they have on their homes nuh?"
Oscar Requena, Toledo West Area Rep
"Listen, we have to be very culturally sensitive to these situations and I will tell you, as Maya we lost our thatch roof. I have a big thatch roof, I love it. It's cool but it's something that you know we need to start to consider but at the end of the day, we have to respect people's views and how they feel, especially when it comes to building their own homes. We have to encourage our people to start to think about that yes but it's a process."
All 13 structures destroyed by the fire were thatch.
