MEXICO FIRES BURNING ON THREE FRONTS; HOMES AND PRISON THREATENED

By Nadin Abbott and Miriam Raftery

June 27, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Multiple fires in Mexico are threatening homes and a penitentiary tonight, ECM has learned.  Late this afternoon, Cal Fire informed ECM that the agency is monitoring the fire in Mexico, which at that time was eight miles from the border.

Alfredo Escobedo, state director of Civil Defense, told ECM that the fires are burning on three fronts. The first is in Loma Toba, near the state jail, about 20 km (12 miles) east of Tecate, a border town. The blaze, which has consumed 100 hectares, has burned to within 10 yards of the jail wall.

The second is in an area known as Cañada del Sol, where structures are at risk. There is no estimate as to how much has burned in this blaze. This is the closest to the border, producing a thick column of smoke.

No details were available yet on the third blaze.

Since the penitentiary has inmates and there are homes in the Cañada del Sol area, these two fires have been given priority for resources. Units from CONAFOR, Tijuana Fire, Tecate Fire, CERUM and Civil Defense are working the multiple fires.

An ECM reader who has worked for local emergency agencies sent an e-mail stating that firefighting equipment can be scarce in some areas of Mexico. 

"The hand-me-downs from worn out uniforms from San Diego and other agencies are sent to Mexico and get grabbed up by the first on hand to get to the disbursement sites," he wrote. "The backcountry people fight fires in their cowboy hats, serapes and with shovels from their own barns. Garden hoses often serve as front line water for them.”  Such fires can be devastating to farmers and ranchers who lose their properties, their livestock and their livelihoods, he added. 

ECM reporter Nadin Abbott has observed similar scenarios during her work in Mexico as a first responder with the Red Cross.

Watch for updates on these wildfires at our website.  If you are not yet signed up to receive free Viejas Wildfire and Emergency Alerts, sign up for free e-mail alerts at the top right side of our homepage. You can also follow ViejasAlerts on Twitter for brief text alerts on your mobile device. We recommend both free services, since you can't be certain which forms of communication will work best in a major regional emergency where communication lines may be damaged by fires.