After days of smoke from Puerto Vallarta’s El Gavilán landfill, the emergency is moving into a harder phase. State and environmental authorities must now decide whether the fire exposed failures in how the municipal site was operated, including in the storage of tires, which produced some of the worst emissions. The review could result in sanctions, corrective orders, or partial or total closure, while the city’s trash system is already under pressure from a separate financial dispute.
El Gavilán now faces an operating review
Puerto Vallarta’s El Gavilán landfill is moving from firefighting into scrutiny. A blaze that began in a tire storage area triggered air alerts. It may now lead to sanctions or closure.
Blanca Becerra, regional commander for State Civil Protection and Firefighters, said authorities must review how the municipal site was operating. “The municipal dump will have to be physically reviewed,” she said in an interview about the fire. She said the competent authority will decide whether responsibility exists. That decision could bring a sanction, or a partial or total closure. The review follows several days of toxic smoke warnings and later cooling work at the landfill as crews gained ground.
Cause remains unresolved
The cause remains unresolved. Becerra said different versions have circulated, including one suggesting the fire was set. She said no conclusion has been reached. Investigators are expected to review photos, videos, and worker testimony. “It is complicated to determine the origin,” she said. There was no permanent surveillance at the site, she added. Landfill staff had been unable to determine how the fire started.
The strongest point of the case is also the most visible. Officials identified the critical area as a zone where tires had accumulated. That material burns hot. It produces dense smoke. It also complicates suppression work. Becerra said the fire was detected in the tire area. She warned that a landfill contains many kinds of waste, which increases the environmental risk when it burns.
Air alerts kept pressure on authorities
The air response began before the closure question was made public. Elizabeth Durán Chávez, director of Air Quality Management at the state environmental agency, said officials modeled the contaminant plume’s movement. That modeling began after Civil Protection reported the fire in the tire area. She said burning tires can release carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and toxic particles.
“The most important thing is to avoid exposure,” Durán Chávez said while the state kept emergency measures in place. Preventive advice included avoiding outdoor activity. Authorities also urged people to stay inside with doors and windows closed when smoke was present. A face mask was recommended when going out was unavoidable.
By Sunday night, the emergency had been reduced to an atmospheric alert. The smoke had not disappeared. On Monday, visible fumaroles were still reported at different points of the landfill slopes. Environmental authorities maintained preventive measures in effect for El Colorado, Los Ángeles, El Zancudo, Verde Valle, Colinas del Valle, Ecoterra Paraíso, La Arboleda, Las Rosas, Ojo de Agua, El Cantón, and nearby areas.
The inspection will test landfill rules
Municipal records show El Gavilán is not an incidental dump site. The city’s own transparency filings describe a landfill office with clear duties. It must supervise operations, maintain technical management, and reduce environmental impact. The same filing says El Gavilán regulates the final disposal of urban solid waste. It also says the site must operate in line with environmental norms.
That language points directly to NOM 083, the federal standard for final disposal sites. The rule covers site selection, design, construction, operation, monitoring, closure, post-closure, and complementary works. It applies to municipal solid waste and special-management waste sites. Any inspection into El Gavilán will likely turn on one core point. Did the landfill’s real operation match those requirements?
The review also comes at a fragile time for Puerto Vallarta’s trash system. The city has already been sorting through the fallout from a separate trash service dispute. That dispute included a debt of more than 240 million pesos after the early end of a concession with Red Ambiental. The landfill fire adds an environmental and regulatory layer to a service already under pressure.
City officials have said the fire caused no deaths or injuries. They also said the tire zone was eventually extinguished. Fire crews continued working in other areas of the landfill after that. Those tasks included cooling and suppression work in the upper section. The investigation will decide whether the aftermath ends with cleanup alone. It could also bring orders that change how El Gavilán is allowed to operate.
