Forest fires spread in Mexico, at least four dead

MEXICO CITY (Reuters/AP): A wave of wildfires in Mexico has claimed at least four lives, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters on Wednesday.

The reported deaths all come from Mexico state, the country’s most populous which rings the capital, the president said. There are currently 116 forest fires burning across the nation.

Around 400 fires have been documented in Mexico through March 15, torching a total of more than 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres), with some of the blazes reported as far south as Chiapas state, on the border with Guatemala.

According to official data, the causes include both intentionally set fires as well as those caused by agricultural activities.

AP adds: Forest fires have been burning in nearly half of Mexico’s drought-stricken states fueled by strong winds since Monday.

The National Forestry Commission reported 58 active fires in 15 states, including in protected nature reserves in Morelos, Veracruz and Mexico states.

A preliminary estimate of the affected area reached more than 3,500 acres (1,421 hectares), the commission wrote on the social platform X.

Authorities had reported that some homes were burned at a wildfire in Nogales, Veracruz on Monday. A fire burned across mountain farms, killing livestock and charring homes. At least five families were moved to a shelter.

Firefighters battled with a water tanker while residents slapped at flames in their fields with branches.

Alondra Chávez a Nogales resident was among those fighting the flames.

“The wind is beating us and we do what we can,” Chávez said.

Catalina Villafuerte, a resident of Aserradero Maltrata, a nearby community battling another fire, said “Everything is destroyed, the machines to work, beds, mattresses, everything.”