Tonight, Caye Caulker is mourning once again, not for one of their fellow residents, but rather, for their iconic beachside establishments. A fire broke out early this morning and tore through two restaurants and threatened two more buildings.
When the smoke cleared, both Barrier Reef Sports Bar and Grill and La Cubana were left with nothing more than charred wood.
And while the island, known for taking it a little slow, was getting ready for a weekend of fun, the community had to jump right into the action to help save lives and infrastructure. But it wasn't easy for this blaze to be extinguished.
Courtney Menzies went there today and has this story.
Courtney Menzies:
2023 has not been kind to La Isla Carinosa. They have had to mourn the victims of two murders, and today, a massive fire destroyed two of the island's favorite spots. Initial reports say the fire started here, at Sports Bar and Grill, then spread to two other buildings. While Bambooze received some damage, La Cubana - a popular restaurant on the beach - was completely gutted, leaving a family without their livelihoods and their home.
Alejandro Arias, La Cubana
"My grandmother told me that she was using the restroom, it all seems that the fire started from the business at the side, Sports Bar, because she started to smell like something was burning and that's when she looked outside through the window and she saw the flames coming out from there but since the businesses are so close together, basically wall to wall, it was very easy for our place to actually catch on flames."
"Nothing we weren't able to save. Basically all my family members were walking down the stairs with the smoke, inhaling smoke, that's why I had to take them. They weren't able to save anything."
Courtney Menzies:
"And this is your restaurant and your home."
Alejandro Arias, La Cubana
"Yes restaurant and home, some employees actually lived here with us as well and all of them lost everything. It's very, you know, you see it a lot on the news and stuff and you never think that it would actually happen to you. The morning started fine, I was at work, and then, you know. It's a shock for me, it's the first time that it actually hit so close to home because you heard everyone but it's the first time something like this has actually happened to our family."
And while the residents will miss these establishments, the fire would have been worse were it not for the bucket brigade that saved Bambooze and the Hol Chan Marine Reserve office.
One of the residents who joined the action told us how they managed to keep the fire from spreading further.
Gustavo Chan, Caye Caulker Resident
"Bucket brigade was already happening and we just started going where Bamboozle is, everyone lined up and started throwing buckets so that business didn't catch on fire, because it was too late for Sports Bar and Cubana so we just had to do what we could to prevent the fire from spreading."
"As soon as we got that secured and we knew that it was safe enough that the fire wouldn't spread there, we ran to the side and we helped the firemen with the hose and we started watering down the side here so it didn't catch on fire as well and didn't spread to the police station as well."
Courtney Menzies:
"What in you, when you saw this you decided, I will jump in this even if I get hurt?"
Gustavo Chan, Caye Caulker Resident
"Yeah, basically, because I even lost my shirt and I'm scratched and everything but minor injuries, nothing serious and it's a good thing that there's no one that got hurt and we're happy for that."
And the main reason that the bucket brigade was so necessary was because the firetruck could not access the area that was on fire. That's because on one side, it is too narrow for the trucks, and on the other, the beach is blocked by this establishment.
Gustavo Chan, Caye Caulker Resident
"It was hard for it to pass through the beach because we have some people who blocked off the beach and that's one of the main points of access for this island as well, for the islanders, and it's the two sides that the firetruck couldn't get through from so they made it harder for them to make it work and made it harder for the water to come."
Courtney Menzies:
"So you'd advocate for them to maybe remove those structures from the beach?"
Gustavo Chan, Caye Caulker Resident
"Yeah, remove it, build out the beach a little further, and make a wider space for everyone to pass through, carts and trucks because that's important for here."
Seleny Villanueva Pott, Chairlady, Caye Caulker
"What was supposed to be a pier permit is now where a bar is and we don't know how that bar is there and there's no way the firetruck could have gone west to access the Sports Bar area and why we're saying that is because the firetrucks are big."
"In this case, hoses were run at a distance, and the firetruck wasn't able to come to a closer proximity. It's so unfortunate that some people are being selfish, some people are saying that they own the beach, as far as I know, no one can own any beach. I'm making a public plea to the government, to the Minister of Natural resources, that we need to look into these issues, we're very blessed that we didn't have any lives taken, but I believe this is a lesson learnt and we need to begin to put things in place to ensure that we don't have a repeat of this."
And while the chairlady is hoping that the government hears her pleas, for now, they have to contend with two of their beachside businesses being down and out for the tourism high season.
The clerk at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve office - which received water damage - explained that he didn't even know there was a fire until someone told him to get out of the building. And while he's happy he didn't get hurt, he'll still miss his favorite Friday night spot.
Ramir Villanueva, Clerk, Hol Chan Marine Reserve
"It was scary and at the same time heartbreaking because Sports Bar, everyone knows Sports Bar here in Caye Caulker, both locals and tourists, that is like one of the nice party spots, it's very sad. We hope they recover and we pray for them and all the families that are affected in this situation."
Courtney Menzies:
"It's a rough start to the high season."
Ramir Villanueva, Clerk, Hol Chan Marine Reserve
"Yes, very rough start and tourists always look forward to Sports Bar, today they should have had their Friday jam session but unfortunately the fire happened and we're going to miss that, you know."
Seleny Villanueva Pott, Chairlady, Caye Caulker
"Sports Bar and La Cubana are what I call iconic, they're a part of, when you come to Caye Caulker, the must visit places, everybody knows that Sports Bar is one of the places where when you come to Caye Caulker you hang out, even us locals, that's one of our hang out spots, so it's a little bit hard to digest, our hearts go out to the owners of Sports Bar, Miss Angie and her crew, it's rather tragic, I will say, we've been having a series of deaths, illnesses, and now even fire so we're hoping that all these events unite us and make us stronger so we are able to push forward."
And that's exactly what has happened - the Caye Caulker community has come together once again during a time of tragedy.
Alejandro Arias, La Cubana
"It's been very amazing, I'm very shocked in that sense as well, immediately all my family has been getting a lot of help. We have gotten calls, places where we can stay, getting clothes and things like that. But it's been very amazing and my family is very thankful for the assistance."
Ramir Villanueva, Clerk, Hol Chan Marine Reserve
"You know what I love about Caye Caulker, and speaking as a Hickacano, born and grow here, we may have differences at times, but when tragedies like this happen, we come together, put our differences, if we have to do fundraisers, we're going to do fundraisers, and if we need to give of our own we will definitely do that because we come together as one island and that's what I love about my Caye Caulker."
In total, about 10 persons were displaced, but right now, the village council is working double time to find beds and clothes for the La Cubana family to get through the night.
