On Friday, a fire in the Cayo District led to the loss of over fifty thousand dollars in cash. Tan’s Store, located in the Valley of Peace area, was already engulfed in flames by the time authorities arrived. The store owner, Jing Pan Tan, reported damages totaling over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, including property, cash, legal documents, and several licensed guns. ACP Hilberto Romero provided more details on this devastating incident.
“The fifteenth of November, 2024, police responded to a house fire in the Valley of Peace. Upon arrival, there is a building completely engulfed in flames. Jing Tan reported that he was at home when he saw smoke in the kitchen area. Thereafter the building caught fire several items are damaged including two firearms. An investigation is being carried out to try and determine the cause of the fire.”
Reporter
“Those firearms were licensed?”
Hilberto Romero
“Yeah, they were licensed firearms.”
Reporter
“Does he have any suspicions of what might have caused it?”
Hilberto Romero
“He saw smoke coming from the kitchen area. And then The fire engulfed the building from there.”
Reporter
“Was he home alone?”
Hilberto Romero
“There were other persons there but he was home at the time.”
Tropical Storm Sara is brewing and could start moving westward next week. If it forms, it’ll be the eighteenth named storm of this Atlantic Hurricane Season. Right now, it’s expected to head towards the Gulf of Mexico, but we’re still not sure how strong it’ll get or its exact path. The National Emergency Management Organization is ready, and today, Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner mentioned that CEMO is also keeping a close eye on Sara’s progress and power.
Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
“Our city emergency NEMO. and the Met Office and we are closely monitoring, the track of this system here. But we stand ready as a city. We hope it never comes to fruition. We never want to be impacted by any hurricane or disaster. Because the fact is that, it really sets you back as a country, and especially as a municipality that has its own struggles.”
Two men are facing arson charges in Dangriga Town. On Tuesday night, a century-old colonial building was engulfed in flames. At the same time, a nearby wooden home also caught fire. While the colonial building was abandoned, a mother and her two children were inside the second home. The mother believes the same men who set the colonial building on fire also targeted her house, as she saw them leaving the scene. News Five headed south today to cover the story. Here’s the report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
On Tuesday night, an old colonial house on Commerce Street was engulfed in flames. By morning, firefighters were still battling the lingering embers among the ashes. The building was completely destroyed. Lisa Cheng, who lives nearby, is a relative of the property owner.
Lisa Cheng
Lisa Cheng, Relative of Property Owner
“I closed my business, impact Dangriga around five thirty p.m. and I noticed that across the street where the big structure would have been, there was smoke coming out from the second floor. I decided to approach my neighbor who has a little food stall in front and I told her about it. We called fire department to let them know there is smoke emitting from the building. They said they would come check it out. By six o clock the entire building was engulfed in flames.”
The structure had been abandoned for years. The owners had been working to dismantle the building, because it was known to harbor suspicious characters. When the fire started, residents saw two young men running away from the property. This has led many to suspect that the fire was no accident, but a deliberate act of arson.
Lisa Cheng
“That is our suspicion, but like I said we will leave it up to authorities. There was nothing in the building, absolutely nothing. We don’t see the reason why they would want to burn it down. We were trying to take it down. Whatever good piece of lumber or wood we were giving it to the community that they can reuse.”
Initially, there were reports that someone had died in the blaze. However, News Five has confirmed that these reports are false. The person thought to be dead is actually a woman who lives across from the colonial house with her two children. They discovered their front porch on fire before the first blaze got out of control. The woman suspects that the same individuals who set the colonial house on fire came back to target her home while she and her children were inside. She shared her story with us off camera.
Voice of: Kamila Rhaburn
Voice of: Kamila Rhaburn, Dangriga Town Resident
“I saw them leave and then I went back in my house, because the house is an abandoned building, and it is not unusual for me to see people come and leave for whatever activity was done there. I ignored it, all the signs and went back in my house to lay down. Two minutes later I smell the smoke and I came out. My house was on fire.”
Rhaburn sprang into action and secured her children, a plastic bag with a couple clothing items, and a television, before fleeing the house. Fortunately, fire personnel were able to quell the fire before it destroyed the entire structure with everything inside. The blaze from the colonial house, however, caused some damage to the roof siding of a third home.
Voice of: Kamila Rhaburn
“My two daughters are still traumatized from the ordeal. I am just happy we got our safe, you know.”
Paul Lopez
“There were initial reports suggesting that someone had passed away. Was the assumption that the person was you?”
Voice of: Kamila Rhaburn
“They assumed that it was me and my kids, because while I was in the crowd, everybody was traumatized and shocked because they thought it was me and my kids. While being in the crowd everybody, a guy came up to me and said, Ms. I heard you were in the fire, am I seeing a ghost? I said, no it is me. I was not in the fire. It is still traumatizing for me and my kids because now we are back here after all the effects and my daughter is still traumatized to even be in the house.
News Five has confirmed that surveillance footage of the two suspects has been handed over to investigators. Lisa Cheng described the blaze as the biggest fire Dangriga has ever witnessed.
Lisa Cheng
“It was one of the biggest fires Dangriga has ever witnessed. This building took up four parcels of land. It was half of a block here and we are grateful for the fire department. They reached. It was an old building, broken down, dry so it is going to light up fast. Their fast response along with B.E.L, they took off the electricity because the wires were beginning to spark and we are grateful that a fire hydrant is right next door. So, the two fire trucks came and attacked it. Lucky thing there was not any breeze because it could have been a lot worse.”
A mother and son in Belize City have lost everything after a fire broke inside their home on Friday night. Residents of Pelican Street Extension recall that around ten-thirty p.m. flames engulfed the two-story cement and wooden structure, resulting in severe damage to the contents of the house. Firefighters responded to the scene and were able to douse the flames and prevent the fire from spreading. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the incident.
The dreaded hurricane that Florida residents were bracing for has finally passed, but not without causing significant devastation. At least twelve lives were lost, many more people are now homeless, and millions are without power. The hurricane made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, late Wednesday evening as a Category Three storm, packing winds of one hundred and twenty miles per hour. It uprooted trees and knocked down light poles, causing widespread power outages along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Many Belizeans living in the storm’s path were affected. While there have been no reports of Belizean casualties, many are now beginning the arduous task of cleaning up and repairing their damaged homes. Before hitting land, the hurricane had intensified to a Category Five in the Gulf of Mexico but weakened just before making landfall. It dumped over ten inches of rain in some parts of Florida, with other areas receiving an additional eight to twelve inches.
In response to the current wildfires affecting Belize since May, the EU is providing one hundred and seventy thousand Belize dollars in humanitarian assistance to families most affected by the disaster.
By supporting the Belize Red Cross Society, the EU aims to support two families or about eight hundred individuals, primarily farmers, who have lost their crops due to the fires.
As a result of the wildfires, more than thirteen thousand hectares of agricultural land have been destroyed. This has damaged approximately two hundred homes and caused over eight million US dollars in damages. Twenty-four villages and communities, primarily in the western portion of the Toledo district, were affected. These numbers might increase as the fires and further assessments are still ongoing.
The European Union offers assistance to the victims of the wildfires in Belize/ The Belize Red Cross
The effects of climate change, a prolonged excessive heat wave, and prevailing dry weather conditions helped spread the fires in the Toledo District and Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve in the Cayo District.
The assistance will support the provision of health, water, and sanitation services, as well as cash assistance by the Belize Red Cross Society.
As of June 13th, fires in the Toledo District continued to flare up and progress due to strong winds within the area.
But the rains are not over yet. In fact, we are only at the start of the rainy season. And, with an increase in deforestation and land developments along the Coastal Plain Highway, incidents of flooding could quite likely become even more severe. According to Evondale Moody, an assessment of the highway has revealed that large plots of land where forests once stood have been cleared as opportunities for business increase with the area. And with these clearings, the road infrastructure can become even more stressed. Here is how he puts it.
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“In terms of the defects liability period, based on what I have seen today it is not a result of workmanship. There was no fault of the contractor in what happened over the weekend. That was not his fault, that was the fault of nature. WE did not know the creek would be flooded. We did all we could in the design to improve the drainage condition within that section of the highway. However other entities created that problem for us by deforestation up stream. We don’t know that is happening there. It is something we have to look into, but a lot of areas have been burnt out, and based on my observation this morning we have a lot of areas where a lot of forest is cleared now where people are developing their new businesses, their new parks opening, and I saw one just by the Manatee bridge. The Manatee bridge used to be the key point along the Coastal Highway where flooding would occur. That bridge performed well today. There were flood waters there, but you could see surrounding the four banks along that river that there is developments happening there. I think there is an Eco Park that will happen there, and all that forest and land mass have been cleared. We now have to look at the capacity of those drains there and the capacity of the Manatee channel itself to cope with the flood water that will be coming down because that water will not be infiltrated into the earth. It has to be displaced somewhere so that has to be to the Manatee Creek. So it is all about development that is happening along the coastal highway and all over the country.”
Fire relief missions across the country are ongoing. While the teams at Mountain Pine Ridge have been able to successfully extinguish the flames that spread across the reserve last week, at least thirty-four thousand acres have been severely damaged. And in southern Belize, the fires are raging on throughout Toledo District, contributing to millions of dollars lost in agriculture. Amidst this crisis, the government has assured the public that additional assistance will be provided to the affected farmers and that the relief mission has not yet ended. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with that report.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Last week, a brushfire wreaked havoc across the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, leading to a multi-agency relief effort. After days of diligent work fighting the flames, the team was able to extinguish and contain the fire, however, nearly forty percent of the forest was affected. Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, says that majority of the trees in the affected area, will make a recovery.
Orlando Habet
Orlando Habet, Minister of Minister of Sustainable Development
“The trees were already starting to seed. They will fall on ground that has a lot of ash now. And so when the rains come, it is expected that there will be a lot of regeneration. Additionally, the Forest Department is preparing through their restoration program. o put down seeds, to produce seedlings for restoration activities, so as to plant. Pine trees in those areas that do not take naturally from the regeneration. And also the concessionaire for the long term forest concessions also are involved in producing seeds through their nurses, and they will also be assisting in replanting.”
While reports are optimistic for Mountain Pine Ridge, down in southern Belize, the number of people and farmland affected by the fires continues to grow. The Minister of Disaster Risk Management spoke on the severity of the matter.
Andre Perez
Andre Perez, Minister of Disaster Risk Management
“As we speak right now, the jungle continues to burn down south in Toledo last night. There were some threats for Silver Creek. Up in the mountain Pine Ridge, the fire continues to rage. As much as thirty-four thousand acres of Pine Ridge has burnt. Down south in Toledo District hundreds of, millions of dollars in, agriculture products – plantations have been lost. Cacao, beans; we’re talking about corn, even mahogany trees. There’s a farm there with growing mahogany trees, it’s all gone. So this fire is very serious economically. It is affecting us and will affect us. The livelihoods of these people are being affected. Even the village of San Antonio is under threat right now with their water lines, and also the ecological disaster. So all of this has to be quantified looking at – and in terms of funding, It is important.”
Relief efforts are ongoing in the area and the government is planning on providing additional assistance to the affected farmers.
Andre Perez
“I’ve been in there about two times down south, and in Mountain Pine Ridge as well, I was there this weekend. And everything is moving swiftly in terms of humanitarian needs, also in fighting of the fires. Again, we’ve gotten Astrum [Helicopters]. It’s a cost – comes with a cost, but it was necessary. It has been very effective and that has helped a lot. In terms of relief also with the Department of Agriculture as well to assist the farmers. The Forestry [department] is already involved in here as well, and NEMO in Punta Gorda Town, Machaka area, has of course activated to assist in any way possible -the livelihoods in terms of food, other materials that are needed for homes.”
Reporter
“So they’re already getting assistance?”
Andre Perez
“Absolutely.”
Out west in San Antonio, Cayo, Habet explains that the relief efforts have also been extensive in fighting the fires that disrupted the village’s water supply. He says that most of the fires have now been contained.
Orlando Habet
“In the San Antonio area. the information is that the fires are contained there was assistance, they had to utilize the helicopters from Astrum to put water a few days ago. The firefighters from the forest department the co manager of the Elijio Panti, and also the villagers from San Antonio and led by the town council, the village council. And also the private sector, the resort Gaia, Blancano and others who are also and have been participating. We are thankful for all those who have participated, who have contributed, and we understand that today the private sector was even lending some assistance in terms of masks and providing other drinks, power aid and stuff like that gatorade for the fighters who get dehydrated. A lot of the fire in that area has now been contained, most of it.”
Additionally, on Monday, the team at Altun Ha Archaeological Site discovered a brushfire near the temples. The past two days have been spent containing the flames that increased on Tuesday evening. We asked Habet for an update on the situation.
Orlando Habet
“Not this morning, but yesterday we were informed and I had communicated with The people from B.T.B., we both informed the fire department at Ladyville. They moved in quickly and assisted the community and other people who are assisting to quench the fire. I haven’t had a report this morning as to what happened there, but my information that I received at about two in the morning. Most of the fire had been out.”
Perez said that the government is also receiving assistance through the U.S. Embassy and the Belize Red Cross, from abroad to assist the people who have suffered losses because of the wildfires. Britney Gordon for News Five.
Wildfires continue to spread across the country and, over the weekend, personnel from the National Emergency Management Organization, NEMO, were deployed to southern and western Belize. In San Miguel, Toledo District, farmers fought the flames that were consuming their crops and did everything within their means to prevent the fires from spreading to homes and other structures in the village. In the west, a group of N.G.O.s led by the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations, APAMO, took on fires that threatened the Elijio Panti National Park, as well as San Antonio Village. Tonight, we look at the efforts of brave residents and committed conservationists in Cayo District who were out over the weekend fighting wildfires. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with that story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The threat of wildfires destroying the Elijio Panti National Park has prompted residents from nearby San Antonio Village, as well as responders from several environmental agencies, to join forces in a concerted effort to prevent the rapidly spreading flames from making their way into the protected area.
Maria Garcia
Maria Garcia, Chairlady, Itzamna Society
“The park is so important to us because it’s a corridor. It buffers the Macal River up Barton Creek. It’s a very fragile area. It’s, you know, part of our Mayan heritage, that’s where our people used to go and do their ceremonies. We go up there and collect our herbs, you know, it’spart of us.”
Cayo District is a vast expanse of wilderness that includes the Elijio Panti National Park, so named after the widely revered traditional healer. This large area of public land is protected by the Government of Belize for it scenic, recreational, scientific and historical importance. Here, many native plant and animal species are adapted to specific fire regimes, however, uncontrolled wildfires can harm or eliminate these species.
Maria Garcia
“It’s a unique area where we have waterfalls, we have the jaguars, we have howler monkeys, and, you know, the creeks feed into the Macal River. So if the park is destroyed there will be no more water tothe Macal River.”
Over the weekend, quite a few teams were activated to fight the raging fires in Cayo District. The ecological impact of wildfires includes habitat destruction, soil degradation, and loss of native species. After a fire, invasive plants may colonize the burned areas, outcompeting native vegetation and altering ecosystem dynamics. Rene Tzib is one of several volunteers who have decided to join the effort.
Rene Tzib
Rene Tzib, Volunteer
“We went all around the hill which part is burning, we clear every branches that were on the line. So all the groups are working very hard right now, but we need some more water and like the heat right now is very hot. So they said they will leave it just like that, but it’s already controlledalready, all around.”
In western Belize, a combination of local wildfires and Saharan dust has led to poor air quality levels. Smoke inhalation can cause respiratory issues, chest discomfort and allergic reactions. San Antonio Village has roughly four thousand residents, vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions, are particularly at risk.
Andy Carrein
Andy Carrein, Belize Red Cross
“We are here in San Antonio Village, Cayo, helping, not really with the fires but making sure that people who have pulmonary issues aren’t suffering. So we are going house to house to check on them, check their vital signs and make sure they’re all doing well, make sure they have some facial masks to prevent any damage to their lungs fromthe smoke inhalation.”
Wildfires have far-reaching consequences, affecting both the environment and the well-being of communities. Urgent action is needed to prevent and manage wildfires effectively.
Aaron Tzib
Aaron Tzib, Chairman, San Antonio Village
“What we are facing at the moment here in the community is a fire threat. We have the white fires, if you see, it behind [me], to my rear. One week ago, we spotted some smoke up the hills and then from there it escalated and then it went out of control and that was the threat, like it was expanding towards the east where we had ourwater system pipelines.From the time we saw that the fire was expanding, we acted and we were proactive. We went there with the community members, we sought assistance, for help, and that is how we managed to open a track, a fire line all around the fire and we left the fire in the center. But we know that it’s very windy in the afternoons and in the evenings and that is how the fire just went out of control again because it went and it passed the fire line that wehad already secured.”
As temperatures rise, dry conditions become more common, creating ideal circumstances for fire growth.
Jose Perez
Jose Perez, Executive Director, APAMO
“I must say, initially, that we are proud of the great work that our member, Itzamna Society, is doing infighting this wildfire. Here, this is a testimony of the work that these groups have been doing over the years apart from deterring illegal hunting and illegal extraction of timber. Having eyes on the ground for incidents like these during the fire season, they are the first ones to notice these fires and activate a response. We have to thank NEMO and the prime minister for activating NEMO for this national response because it’s not only here that we’re having fires. We’re having fires all the way down south and in the north in the River Valley, but this one was given priority over yesterday and today because it was threatening a serious pipeline, a pipeline that runs all the way from the headwaters way down into the village, itprovides potable water.”
Continued vigilance is crucial to mitigate the threats posed by wildfires, despite the ongoing emergency response efforts. Isani Cayetano for News Five.
Wildfires have destroyed more than six hundred acres of farmland in Toledo District over the past three weeks. An initial damage assessment conducted by the National Emergency Management Organization estimates over three million dollars in losses. More than two hundred families have been affected, the equivalent of just under a thousand residents. They describe these events as the worst they have seen in their lifetime. Compounding the challenges brought on by wildfires is an extensive period of drought and little to no access to water in some villages. News Five’s Paul Lopez traveled to Toledo today. He filed the following reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Over six hundred acres of farmland, in addition to a vast expanse of forest, have been destroyed by wildfire in Toledo District.
Novelo Chiac
Novelo Chiac, Blue Creek Village Resident
“That is our, that is where we get our food and we call it our home because we get our lumber there and stuff for our house.”
This is Novelo Chiac, a resident of Blue Creek Village in Toledo District. For the past two weeks, wildfires have been burning through his community.
Novelo Chiac
“Last week Friday the fire reached close to neighbors on this side and we couldn’t find no help.”
Paul Lopez
“Is this the worst you have ever seen?”
Novelo Chiac
“This is the worst one, yeah.”
Wildfires are not uncommon in these parts at this time of year. But increased temperatures, coupled with the absence of rainfall for more than a month, have led to a wildfire fire crisis in Toledo. We came across a brushfire that was growing quickly on a hillside in Blue Creek. Most of the hilly terrain in this community is covered with lush rainforest. At the foot of this hill, one family was on high alert as the fire threatened to destroy their life’s work.
Voice of: Nelson
Voice of: Nelson, Blue Creek Resident
“This has been an area that my dad has invested in. You can see a lot of cacao trees, coconut trees. So what I went and did earlier was try to create a little path as close as I can to it so that in case it reaches down we have our little spray pump there, assuming that it wouldn’t get as big as how it is in other areas around that side.”
Nelson and his family have already lost four acres of corn and two acres of pepitos to this year’s wildfires. Government trucks deliver water to communities in the area almost on a daily basis for general use due to limited water access caused by the drought. Creeks have dried up. River levels are at an all-time low. With limited access, villagers who come together to fight fires are required to travel long distances to fetch and carry water in buckets and gallon bottles.
Voice of: Nelson
“It is a little hard because it is dry, everything is dry but we are trying to salvage what we can because this is the daily livelihood of us here in the village and we rely on this house. This thatch house, it may look small and thing but that is somebody’s home and that is where somebody is living but it means a lot to them.”
West of Blue Creek lies Santa Cruz Village. Both communities are separated by the flaming hills. Francisco and his family live in the village on of top a hill that provides a panoramic view of the smoke-filled horizon and scorched earth. Overwhelmed by the smoke in the air, Francisco has had to relocate his wife and children several times over the past few weeks. His experience has been similar to that of his neighbors.
Voice of: Francisco
Voice of: Francisco, Santa Cruz Village Resident
“Deh same farm pumps we use to do chemicals in the farm and the five gallons to go for water wherever we could find water source. We don’t have specific like the water system is down foe the moment, not down to say that it is not working but we are out of water under the ground so we don’t have that much availability of water anywhere around close.”
It has been established that most of the communities in Toledo live off the land. And for decades, farmers have been practicing slash and burn, a method used to clear forested land for farming. Ironically, this traditional method, practiced by villagers, is believed to be one of the root causes of the fires that are leveling farms in the village. There is now a growing call for safer agricultural practices and stricter penalties for law breakers.
Voice of: Francisco
“To me that is something that could be dealt with with some type of care. The thing is with slash and burn is that we as the farmers we depend on those and that is our main source of food. Without those, if we can’t do that then we can’t plant crop this year. I think the solution to that is when there is slash and burn it shouldn’t just be one person out there to do the slash and burn we need to ensure there is enough water around and man to out the fire if it goes out and off thr limit. And before that we need to make sure we do the fire pass around it and make sure it is wide enough not to pass the fire to the other side.”
Voice of: Nelson
“I would hope that out leaders would come together just like they did for the COVID19 regulations and implement it and be strict about it. We are destroying this environment. What will we have for the future?”
