400+ families displaced as wildfires continue to ravage Belize

By Horace Palacio:  Belize is facing one of its most severe wildfire seasons on record, fueled by an extended heatwave and prolonged drought. Thousands of acres of land and hundreds of families have been affected by the widespread blazes.

In a joint press conference on Thursday, government officials, NGOs, and private companies provided details on the escalating fires and the extent of the damage.

Daniel Mendez, National Emergency Coordinator, highlighted the record-breaking temperatures and low rainfall across the country, which have exacerbated the fire risk.

The Toledo district has been particularly hard-hit, with fires intensifying in mid-May. Mendez reported that over 400 families across 28 communities in the district have been impacted, with at least 6,000 acres of farmland damaged. Ten houses have been destroyed in Grand Creek Village and San Pedro Columbia.

In the Mountain Pine Ridge area, an estimated 32,000 acres have been affected, but a comprehensive damage assessment in the Cayo district is still pending.

Mendez emphasized that firefighting efforts are ongoing, with crews responding to new blazes as recently as Wednesday night.

The environmental impact of the wildfires is also significant, with widespread loss of vegetation and habitat. The fires pose a major threat to livelihoods, particularly in rural communities reliant on agriculture and forestry.

The government, NGOs, and private sector are collaborating to combat the fires and provide relief to affected communities. However, the scale of the disaster underscores the urgent need for long-term strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change and extreme weather events in Belize.

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