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And now for some great news!
Posted by Stephanie W on May 13, 2024, 5:22 pm
Today was the first meeting to get a volunteer fireman or woman team in place for this dry time! And hoorah, 8 folks showed up, 4 expats living here full time and four local guys!
So this is a great start! We talked about water delivery to fires, equipment needed and how to alert one another when a fire does get out of hand and I say that as this group will not be going out to hillside controlled burns nor to accident scenes on hwy 200…we will leave that to the ambulance team with the necessary equipment to assist folks in need and to the bomberos with major equipment from Melaque!
Our group will just service the needs of LM and Los Ingenious for the time being and that time is now with tender dry conditions and many hillside homes that have dry vegetation right up to their property lines!
So a question, if a fire was burning near your home and you are not there would you be happy to have those come into your property to put out the fire? This is crucial as the idea of jumping a fence or somehow getting onto the property is an issue for many locals! So if a few of you could respond it would be great! And if you have dry burnable materials near your homes could your gardeners go in and whack it out so as not to add to an already bad or possible terrible situation? Defensible space!
Thanks..I hope several of you respond as our next meeting is next Monday and would like to give these guys some feedback!
Also we are looking for someone who could send out what’s up alerts to these volunteers…any one volunteering for that position?
In February I had a massive fire, 20ft. high flames, in my garden refuse pile at the corner of my lot beside the arroyo, off Calle Negritos. It was horrific! It woke me up from an afternoon nap so I was not prepared at all. All I could do was yell Ayudame Ayudame from my balcony. Within minutes my yard was swarmed by my neighbour, Eddy (Lalo) and his work crew, who just took over and 45 minutes later had things under control including putting out the fire in my palapa. I’ve never been so traumatized in my life, or so grateful for the kindness shown by my ‘neighbours’. I was supposed to be heading to the airport right at that time to pick up friends,, which had been cancelled, thank gawd. But it made me wonder what would have happened if I had not been at home and been unable to unlock the gate for my saviours. I think Stephanie is right on the mark with trying to figure out a plan, and the manpower, to aid residents in similar situations which are going to happen more and more frequently now that climate change is causing such traumatic global weather conditions, such as the drought throughout Mexico currently. I would gladly make a donation to whatever solutions can be found to help anyone in La Manz who might need it going forward. I never ever want to go through that again! Good luck with this, Stephanie, you are such an asset to the pueblo!
It might too be a good idea if the delegado/authorities enforce the law that no burning of any kind is allowed in the pueblo. Also according to ejido laws, lots have to be kept cleared. If these rules were to be followed, there would be less chance of fires within the community.
For feedback, please saw through any gate or door necessary to put out a fire on my property. You might also need to access properties to use their water resources aka hoses and pools.
Brush clearance is a yearly project in many places and if not kept up you receive a fine. That system might not work here but the volunteer team could identify hot spots in the area for where there is a lot of brush and have a conversation with owners/delegado about removal.
I would be happy to volunteer a couple days to take the volunteers in the back of my truck for a scan of the community. It could also be a way for them to introduce themselves and hand out contact information if necessary.
As for communication, will the WhatsApp group be private or public for alerts? I ask because it might be helpful to have a few designated helpers since someone in the Arroyo might not know about an incident happening in Los Ingenious y vice versa.
Yes, I would definitely allow residents to enter our property in order to extinguish a fire. We live on the hill near the cross and during the summer we, and many of our neighbors, are not in LM.