Puerto Vallarta (Subscriber Content) – Wildfires in the vicinity have produced a mixture of stratus clouds and smoke, enveloping Puerto Vallarta and almost the entire Bay of Banderas.
According to Víctor Manuel Cornejo López, a meteorologist from the Scientific Committee for Civil Protection of the Bay, the area currently records an Imeca index between 76 and 79.
Due to the absence of winds to disperse the smoke particles, they remain suspended at higher altitudes. However, throughout the day, the wind will carry these particles from land to sea, making them visible.
At present, there are no rains to extinguish the fires that ignited last weekend. As a result, nearly a hundred firefighters continue to battle the flames in the forested region between Cabo Corrientes and Talpa de Allende.
As reported yesterday, nearly a hundred responders, including firefighters, brigade members, Semadet staff, and municipal government personnel, are working tirelessly to extinguish two wildfires in the Cabo Corrientes and Talpa de Allende municipalities.
Despite the wind aiding the spread of the fires, a coordinated effort is in place to tackle the blaze. Antonio Jiménez, the fire management coordinator for the Jalisco Ministry of the Environment and Territorial Development (Semadet), explained that multiple agencies are working together under an incident command system.
“Semadet, Civil Protection and Firefighters, municipal government, Conafor, and the intermunicipal environmental board are all collaborating, with 92 people working on the fire since the incident command was established on Tuesday,” the state official said.
Teams are working on both sides of the fire, Jiménez added, with the goal of containing it as quickly as possible and making significant progress in the first two days.
An estimated 300 hectares have been affected so far, based on satellite observations of hot spots, as the total extent of the damage has not yet been determined.
The cause of the fire, which began over the weekend, remains unknown. Due to the remote location, an airlift has been set up using a state government aircraft to supply food and water to the responders stationed in El Tuito, the municipal seat of Cabo Corrientes.
“In addition to establishing a coordination center for all logistical needs related to the fire, we’ve also set up an airlift to deliver supplies to brigade members who can’t leave or don’t have access to vehicles,” said Adrián Bobadilla García, the Second Commander of the Jalisco State Civil Protection and Fire Department Unit.
“Logistics for two fires are effectively being managed: one in El Tuito and another further back, near the Sierra de Talpa. We’ve established a coordination center in Tuito using the Incident Command System tool, with full support from the Cabo Corrientes municipality,” García added.
In the first quarter of 2023, Jalisco saw an average of three forest fires per day, ranking it second nationally. As of April 10, 460 wildfires had been reported.
