Fire At Midas Resort

Fire At Midas Resort
Originally uploaded by teerlinck.

This happened barely a half mile from where we were staying. We read in the local paper how a recent fire was mishandled and a house burned down. Carine Quiroz, wife of Javier and owner of Mana Kai told us that the San Ignacio fire department has yet to SAVE a house. The fire department is all volunteer and consists of one truck. We were told that whether or not the fire house answers the phone or hangs up on you or whether the truck has water all depends of somebody's mood. We watched them "fight" this fire in total disarray and confusion. The fire fighters were half a dozen guys in t-shirts and sandals.

We smelled the smoke for a long time before we realized how close the fire was to our cabin. Then we saw thick ashes blowing in our windows. Then we walked outside and heard the crackling of fire swallowing whole trees. I've never been this close to a fire that out of control. We threw our passports and money in our bags and prepared to flee, but crept closer for a look at the fire, to assess what sort of danger we were in first.

We saw a few tourists on the other side of the ridge fighting the blaze with a garden hose, frantically pulling branches off of trees as the wind blew the blaze to within a few yards of the Midas Cabins. Nice and I rushed to get shovels and go help them dig fire lines but by then the wind had shifted, it was slightly cooler and the blaze went down. Carine said this happens every year.