Tepozteco will be closed for two months after fire

Authorities from Tepoztlán announced that for the next two months El Tepozteco National Park will be closed, both for tourists and residents of the area, after a fire broke out in the natural area of Morelos in recent days. This measure will start from this Wednesday, March 30.

By means of a circular, the Directorate of Ecology and Environmental Protection published the determination that was made since March 19, in which it was decided that the ecological site will have its doors closed in order to safeguard the ecosystem of the hills and to carry out the repair of the affected areas.

Human error cost 145 hectares burned, according to reports from Morelos Civil Protection Coordinator Enrique Clement.

According to members of the Tejones Tepoztlán brigade, during the fire season, Tepozteco is one of the most affected, so the protected natural area has deteriorated. In this context, together with the authorities, they decided to implement urgent measures to curb the devastation.

For his part, David Alanís, Secretary of Management and Operations of Tepoztlán, said that “filters have been placed at the accesses to the Tepozteco hill and will last indefinitely until the beginning of the rainy season, which is at the end of May and the beginning of April.”

“Tepozteco is a protected national park, however, we cannot ignore this forest wealth that nature has given us; we are the first responsible for its conservation and care,” said Alanís in an interview with journalist Jesús Martín Mendoza.

It was on March 22 when there was a strong fire on the hill of Tepozteco. The fire originated in an oak-pine forest around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the area known as Los Corredores and has lasted for several hours.

Cecilia Valencia Villa r, director of Ecology of the municipality, considered that in order to remedy the damage caused by the fires caused for years to date, “the ideal would be to establish a ban of at least 5 years”.

Gabino Rodríguez, leader of Tejones Tepoztlán brigade, said that they surprised the person who started the fire “completely drugged”.

The brigade denounced that despite having presented this subject to the legal officer, the authorities placed many bureaucratic obstacles to prosecute him, so they were given 48 hours to file a formal complaint with the Morelos Prosecutor's Office.

“He was stopped at the place where the fire started and we have videos (...) He was enjoying the fire and screaming. There he was grabbed, shocking, where the fire started,” said the brigade leader in an interview with Carmen Aristegui on his radio program.

After numerous complaints through social networks, the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR) reported that 97 combatants were on the spot trying to extinguish the flames, which were sent by the same agency, as well as by the National Commission for Protected Natural Areas, the government of Morelos and Civil Protection of the Entity.

According to the agency, the fire is located in a place that is difficult to access, in addition to gusts of wind of about 15 kilometers per hour, which spreads the flames in the middle of the forest, so the fighters dug firebreaks.

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