SEAPAL’s recognition of its tanker-truck crews adds a new layer to the El Gavilán landfill fire response. Behind the smoke alerts and firefighting updates was a water operation that ran for five days, sending tanker after tanker toward El Colorado. The numbers show how much pressure the emergency placed on crews, equipment, and the city’s response system, while several questions around the landfill fire remain unresolved after days of public warnings and difficult cleanup work.
The hidden water fight behind Puerto Vallarta’s fire
SEAPAL Vallarta recognized the tanker-truck crews that helped fight the El Gavilán landfill fire. The water utility said its crews supplied 1.5 million liters of water through 150 tanker trips during five days of firefighting.
The ceremony put names to a quiet part of the response. Firefighters needed water to be moved into El Colorado while smoke, heat, and buried waste kept the emergency active.
Water crews join the firefighting record
SEAPAL said Director General Carlos Ruiz Hernández delivered the recognition on behalf of Mayor Luis Munguía. The event took place at Tanque El Mangal, where the utility based its tanker operation.
The agency said its crews joined the response from the beginning and stayed through the close of the operational phase. SEAPAL described the tanker team as the main water supplier for Puerto Vallarta’s firefighters at the landfill.
The operators recognized were José Romero Joya, Jorge Gómez Barriga, José de Jesús Hernández González, Josué Isaías Cruz Valenzuela, and Carlos Adrián Gómez Rangel. SEAPAL also named Ramón Camacho López, Pedro Hernández Topete, Luis David González Cárdenas, Edgar Alejandro García Reyes, and Carlos Javier Cortés Navarro.
Ruiz said the crews helped contain situations outside the utility’s normal control. He said SEAPAL would keep working with the union so crews have “the tools and equipment” needed for their work.
Union leader Juan Andrés Aguirre Palacios also praised the team. “The staff is always committed and available”, he said.
Recognition arrives after days of smoke
The ceremony followed a fire response that stretched beyond a routine landfill incident. The blaze began in the tire area, then spread into the main waste cell. Previous Vallarta Daily coverage described how toxic smoke from the El Gavilán fire triggered health warnings and school disruptions in nearby zones.
State environmental authorities declared an atmospheric emergency on May 28 because tires were burning. The state lowered that measure to an atmospheric alert on May 29. Environment Secretary Paula Bauche Petersen said the alert still applied where the smoke plume was moving, with outdoor activity restricted in those areas.
By June 2, municipal Civil Protection and Fire Director Misael López Muro said the fire response was 85 percent controlled. Fifteen firefighters were still cooling the site with water and soil. Crews were also removing burned material.
The affected zone included the landfill crown and the tire area. López Muro said visible smoke points were linked to vapor caused by leachate. Landfill workers had moved trash handling to an emergency area because the burned crown remained restricted.
The water numbers show the scale
The 150 tanker trips underline a basic problem with landfill fires. Water has to keep moving, and the work continues after visible flames drop. Waste piles can hold heat below the surface. Tires add heavy smoke and make air alerts harder to lift.
Local accounts from the first day described a difficult start. They pointed to limited machinery and tankers before more resources reached El Colorado. López Muro later said the problem was concentrated in the first hours, while equipment was being moved to the site.
SEAPAL’s numbers show the size of the water effort. They do not answer whether enough equipment arrived early enough. The recognition also gives the utility a public role in responding more often through firefighters, environmental alerts, and landfill operations.
The agency said its tanker crews became the primary water suppliers for firefighting operations. It’s reported that the average across the 150 reported trips is 10,000 liters per tanker trip.
