BELIZE CITY, Wed. June 30, 2021– The Ministry of Sustainable Development is closely monitoring the spread of fires that have been burning portions of the forest on the Sleeping Giant mountain range for three weeks now. To date, at least two and a half acres of forest have been burnt.

The Ministry expected the size of the area damaged by the flames to be twice as large, given the rate of burning seen earlier, but the fires have proven to be significantly slower in spreading than they were expected to be.

And while the Sustainable Development Ministry is looking closely at the impact of the blaze on the forest’s ecosystem and the biodiversity within the affected area, they are also considering the financial resources that would be needed to carry out an aerial operation to extinguish the fires.

Due to the rough terrain in the area, and the arduous trek to arrive at the site where the fire is located, using ground support to subdue the flames is virtually impossible. The Ministry is now weighing the potential impacts of the fire on the forest against the cost of using air assets to quell the blaze.
We will continue to follow this story.