Officials Say Arson Involved in Guadalajara Forest Fire EFE
go to original April 25, 2012

Firefighting teams prepare on Tuesday to move into La Primavera, a forest in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, where officials said a blaze that was intentionally set has consumed about 4,000 hectares (9,876 acres). (EFE)

GUADALAJARA, Mexico - The fire that has consumed about 4,000 hectares (9,876 acres) of the La Primavera forest in the western Mexican state of Jalisco was intentionally set, officials said.

"We are sure that it was done intentionally, there are 14 reports of fires very close to that place, which tells us there is a clear intent for this to continue," Jalisco Rural Development Secretary Alvaro Garcia Chavez told the MVS radio network.

Fires have broken out in some areas "in a suspicious manner," bolstering the theory that the fire was set by people with interests in the forest, which is rich in natural resources, Chavez said.

Initial reports said the fire was apparently started by people burning trash at an illegal dump in Arenales Tapatios, an area near the forest.

The fire, which started on Saturday morning, is the worst to hit Jalisco in the past six years, officials said.

About 350 firefighters and volunteers from different cities, as well as army troops, have been fighting the fire with the support of four trucks with pumps, nine tanker trucks, five small planes and several helicopters.

The fire moved closer Tuesday to several urbanized areas, including Pinar de la Venta and El Bajio, where the Chivas soccer team's Omnilife Stadium and the Pan American Villa are located.

The fire has burned through pastures, dead leaves, bushes and trees in several sections of the forest, the National Forestry Commission, or Conafor, said.

Chavez said Monday that threats from gunmen prevented the deployment of some of the teams sent to fight the fire in La Primavera, which is outside Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco.

La Primavera, located in Zapopan, is considered "the lungs" of the Guadalajara metropolitan area because it is the only nature reserve near the large city.

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