Massive bushfire threatens homes near 12 miles in Belize

Belize: A large and persistent bushfire near the 12 Miles area on the Philip Goldson Highway in Belize burned throughout the day on Sunday and posed a serious threat to nearby homes, reported the concerned residents. 

Eyewitnesses report that the fire intensified during the night and was inching dangerously close to residential properties. Despite calls for assistance, residents say the Ladyville Fire Department has informed them that response resources are critically limited. 

One of their fire trucks is reportedly out of commission, leaving only a single unit available to service the entire Ladyville area. Residents were allegedly told that firefighters would not be dispatched unless a house was actively on fire. 

Residents also shared videos of the bushfire on Facebook and voiced their concerns about the same with one of them saying, “There's no sugarcoating what I have to say: the system is resource-constrained, and fire safety is woefully inadequate. The lack of preparedness and action plans to mitigate such incidents is alarming. The fire department and BNTU personnel's limitations are evident. Our citizens deserve better community services. We hope our new ministry will address these deficiencies and provide the necessary services. It's disheartening when citizens rely on us and we can't meet their needs.” 

Another resident also said that it is really embarrassing and added that when it was bushfire in their area last week, the authorities said the same thing and noted that they definitely need to invest on fire trucks. 

“Someone owns that bushy land. He or she is rich and don't give a dam about the damage it can cause. And the fire department is wrong about not responding. they need to do better,” said another user.  

Notably, bushfires while not common in Belize may occur once a month because of the typically dry weather in the country which is why the authorities urge the residents to stay on alert all the time.