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Huge Fire Last Night


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I saw a huge fire last night over by the peninsula jetting out between (I believe) San Antonio and Riberas. Noticed it around 10:30 when I took the dog out to go potty and it raged until at least 2:30 when I finally went to bed. I could see it clearly from my veranda in Rancho del Oro. It was immense and scary - the winds spreading the fire quickly. Anyone heard anything about it? I pray no one was hurt or killed. (Giving thanks this morning for firefighters.)

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Sounds scary!  Yesterday, my limpiadora told me that Club Exotica was on fire Friday night.  Anyone know about either of these fires?

Valerie :(

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Thanks ficklepie & AjijicBound for the info. This is trajic!

Translation for the article from Laguna link above for those who can't read Spanish:

 

The fires in San Antonio Tlayacapan, home to more than a thousand birds. The fire within the lake of Chapala, in front of the place of sighting "Alexander von Humboldt" could have been intentionally set.

Eighty percent of tuna and aquatic plants in the estuary where hundreds of birds were nesting in front of the "Alexander von Humboldt" sighting spot on the San Antonio Tlayacapan waterfront burned on the night of May 6 in a fire, apparently by the hand of man.

The fire was reported to the Civil Protection and Fire Department of Chapala at 9:45 p.m. and was completely extinguished after six hours. There were seven municipal firefighters and citizen support groups who fought the fire until four in the morning, authorities said.

Although official data has not come to light, firefighters have telephoned this Weekly that witnesses to the ecological disaster informed them, without evidence, that the fire within Lake Chapala, a Ramsar site since 2002 (Convention Relative To Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat) was set on purpose.

Ironically, hours before the fire, the inauguration of the sixth Chapala Lake Bird Festival was held at the González Gallo Cultural Center (CCGG), which will be held in various venues throughout the municipality until May 14.

Biologist Moctezuma Medina, in an interview last year for Laguna, estimated that about two thousand birds lived in the estuary.

"In that pure area you can see about ten different species of birds and I think they must be there reproducing and taking refuge not less than a thousand or two thousand birds, because you hear all the will," he said on that occasion.

This is not the first time they have 'vandalized' the San Antonio Tlayacapan boardwalk. On the morning of 10 January this year, 16 trees, 10 covers of public lighting registers, 'graffiti' roasters and completely destroyed the six signs that mark the site of the Alexander von Humboldt birdwatching were removed. , Placed and donated to the population by the institute Corazón de la Tierra, organizer of the Bird Festival of Lake Chapala.

 

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Just now, Metuchenmama said:

It is believed the fire in San Antonio was set.  There were approximately 2000 birds that nested in that sanctuary.  .

The fire in the restaurant on the Ajijic plaza was in the kitchen.  It broke out after the restaurant was closed.

Yesterday afternoon that restaurant looked like it was out of business.

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It is quite sad. I Live at the top of Juarez in Ajijic and above my house are the woods all the way to the top of the hill. Often some of this grassy and or tree covered land is burned down on purpose so that those doing it can plant corn seeds. Soon each year the land is covered by corn which is then harvested in the fall. Could have this fire been set to clear some land and got out of control?

Either way it is sad that it happened.

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I live fronting the Lake in San Antonio just East of the fire. I went by there today and it looks like the fire was centered in the reeds in front of the malecon at the junction where San Jose ends and where the basketball court is. It certainly has nothing to do with someone wanting to clear land for planting. This is part of the lake and is under water in the rainy season. It would be hard to intentionally start a fire like this since it is marshland and heavy grown with 6' - 10' reeds. I have noticed in the past that the bottom of these reeds seem to be covered in some type of oil and there are nearby stone BBQ pits constructed for the families to enjoy along with children's slides and swings. It us quite possible that this fire was accidentally started since I see no benefit to anyone to start it on purpose. The good news is that it looks like the fire area extends about 100 yards on each side of this junction and there is plenty of reed and growth on each side for the birds to resettle. Also I do not think it will take long for complete regrowth since it seems that there is not much damage to the root system.  . 

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15 hours ago, gringohombre said:

I live fronting the Lake in San Antonio just East of the fire. I went by there today and it looks like the fire was centered in the reeds in front of the malecon at the junction where San Jose ends and where the basketball court is. It certainly has nothing to do with someone wanting to clear land for planting. This is part of the lake and is under water in the rainy season. It would be hard to intentionally start a fire like this since it is marshland and heavy grown with 6' - 10' reeds. I have noticed in the past that the bottom of these reeds seem to be covered in some type of oil and there are nearby stone BBQ pits constructed for the families to enjoy along with children's slides and swings. It us quite possible that this fire was accidentally started since I see no benefit to anyone to start it on purpose. The good news is that it looks like the fire area extends about 100 yards on each side of this junction and there is plenty of reed and growth on each side for the birds to resettle. Also I do not think it will take long for complete regrowth since it seems that there is not much damage to the root system.  . 

GH, big thanks for such a clear first-person report.

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Yes, thanks for the report! Back in the day, when I lived in Chula Vista and walked the black lab down there, there used to be people camping at the east end of the area. Not blaming them, but cooking fires can get out of control, so I am wondering: Are there still people camping/living there?

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5 hours ago, JayBearII said:

Yes, thanks for the report! Back in the day, when I lived in Chula Vista and walked the black lab down there, there used to be people camping at the east end of the area. Not blaming them, but cooking fires can get out of control, so I am wondering: Are there still people camping/living there?

9 years ago when I moved to the waterfront of the lake here in San Antonio there were a couple of fisherman camps nearby. No camping of homeless types. They then built the malecon, basketball court, children's slides and swings, BBQ pits and green areas for picnicking. For some strange reason there were some with homes fronting the lake that objected to this and it went into some legal situation that I do not know where it is at now. After a few years fishing seemed to die out and the camps want away. Then the growth of the reeds and other plant life started encroaching on the shoreline and is now many hundreds of yards out into the lake. It is sad to see but if you walk to the east side of the malecon and the little pedestrian bridge that they built you will see a dozen or so of the old fishing boats pulled up in the reeds to where the original shoreline was and just resting there and not being used. The designation of this area as a bird sanctuary was then enacted and there was no effort to clear the growth from the shoreline. I am on neither side of this argument but love living here. I am sure that this fire was not deliberately set but it is sad to see the family fishing business here go away. 

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