Anyone got a spare helicopter?

Cuesta Colorada Ixmiquilpan Hidalgo — At least six active wildfires are burning in Hidalgo, according to a report by La Silla Rota, fires that have affected hundreds of hectares and also the civilian population, including the fire that started in Nicolás Flores and has spread to Cuesta Colorada, Ixmiquilpan.

Mexico City
Smoke just north of Ciudad de México, photo ©2024 Brian Okarski

From the plenary session of the local Congress, deputy Osiris Leines Medécido made a call to support fire victims.

Fires just north of Mexico City have evacuated residents and threatened towns.

Mexico fires -- Cuesta Colorada Ixmiquilpan Hidalgo north of Mexico City.
Mexico fires — Cuesta Colorada Ixmiquilpan Hidalgo north of Mexico City.

Osiris Leines Medécido talked about the fires in Hidalgo territory, and he emphasized the one that started in Nicolás Flores and has spread to  Ixmiquilpan.

Fires in the community called Cuesta Colorada Ixmiquilpan Hidalgo
Fires in the community called Cuesta Colorada Ixmiquilpan Hidalgo

“In Cuesta Colorada, people have organized themselves to be able to fight this fire, the entire population, the delegates, those who represent spas and citizens have all organized, but the intervention of the authorities at the different levels of government is required; the situation requires professionals in the subject, with the appropriate tools and instruments,” he said.

Smoke just north of Ciudad de México, photo ©2024 Brian Okarski
Smoke just north of Ciudad de México, photo ©2024 Brian Okarski

Osiris Leines extended the request of his colleague Aarón Charrez Paloma,  substitute local deputy for the District of Ixmiquilpan, to provide support for the people affected by this fire in the Mezquital Valley.

CuestaColorado Ixmiquilpan Hidalgo
facebook post about fires at Cuesta
Colorado Ixmiquilpan Hidalgo

The Associated Press reported that wildfires were burning in nearly half of Mexico’s drought-stricken states yesterday, fueled by strong winds; the National Forestry Commission reported 58 active fires in 15 states, including in protected nature reserves in Morelos, Veracruz, and Mexico states.

Strong winds and high temps have blocked the efforts of local volunteers to fight the fire
Strong winds and high temps have blocked the efforts of local volunteers to fight the fire

Mexico News Daily reported earlier this month that five residents of the town of San Lucas Quiaviní died while trying to fight a forest fire that threatened their village in the eastern section of the Central Valleys region of the state of Oaxaca, some 40 kilometers from the state capital of Oaxaca City. Villagers had tried to contain the fire but it quickly spread and the five men were overwhelmed by the fire.

In front of my father's house
“In front of my father’s house” Tuesday afternoon

State authorities were alerted as soon as the fire was spotted, but villagers say officials were slow to react.

The Oaxaca state government did not issue an emergency assistance plan until after the fatalities were reported, two days after they were alerted to the fire. By then, San Lucas Quiaviní had issued a call to neighboring municipalities to help combat the blaze.

Mexico and U.S. working together on wildfire

This year the U.S. and Mexico celebrated their 200th year of diplomatic relations, and for almost 25 years now the two countries have worked together in information-sharing and wildfire management. The U.S. Forest Service and the National Forest Commission of Mexico (Comisión Nacional Forestal, or CONAFOR) work with similar wildland fire challenges and a shared approach in the Incident Command System.

CONAFORThis collaboration has its roots back in 1998, when Mexico suffered through its worst fire season on record and was mounting a massive response to try to contain environmental damage and community threat. According to a recent feature story by the Forest Service’s International Programs, smoke from the 1998 Mexico fires caused serious air quality deterioration across hundreds of miles from Veracruz north to the Gulf States along the U.S. border.

The USFS sent literally tons of equipment, personnel, and other resources to Mexico, initiating what’s become a longstanding knowledge-sharing exchange. U.S. firefighters began then to regularly travel to Mexico to teach ICS principles and operations and to share resources, and Mexican firefighters started traveling here to help fight fires and add skills alongside U.S. firefighters.

Eduardo Cruz with USFS fire people
Eduardo Cruz with USFS Region 5 fire people
photo courtesy CONAFOR

Eduardo Cruz traveled from Mexico to the Sequoia National Forest soon after the 1998 fires. He worked on a helitack crew in California and launched longtime international friendships; Cruz is now the fire management director of CONAFOR. During 2020’s brutal R5 season, he brought five crews of Mexican firefighters to California to work on fires — the first time that Mexico had sent an entire delegation of firefighters to support U.S. efforts.

CNN reported back in September 2020 that the Mexican crews brought to California by Eduardo Cruz worked on the Sequoia Complex, which at the time had burned more than 144,000 acres and was just 35 percent contained. “Fires do not have borders, fires do not have different languages and cultures,” Cruz told CNN. “In the end we all speak the same language when it comes to fighting fire.”

The Forest Service has a 2020 photo album online [HERE].

An archived story from WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER Magazine about the 1998 fires in Mexico is online [HERE]. (NOTE that it’s on the archive.org website and most of the old links on that page are no longer functional.)

Alberta donates engines and ambulances to Mexico

Drove in a long convoy to Mazatlan

Canada gives engines ambulances to Mexico
Canadian engines and ambulances on their way from Alberta to be given to Mexico. Photo by Steve Holder, November 4, 2022.

During his annual southward migration, Steve Holder encountered a line of engines and ambulances at the US/Mexico border:

On the drive into Mexico today we stopped for our visitor visa and saw this long line of engines and ambulances. The Rotary Club from Grand Prairie, Alberta is taking them to Mazatlan where they will be distributed to areas of greatest need. These rigs are packed with lots of fire gear. Bunch of great Canadians doing good things- they seemed to be having fun!

Canada gives engines ambulances to Mexico
Canadian engines and ambulances on their way from Alberta to be given to Mexico. Photo by Steve Holder, November 4, 2022.
Canada gives engines ambulances to Mexico
Canadian engines and ambulances on their way from Alberta to be given to Mexico. Photo by Steve Holder, November 4, 2022.

Thank you Steve!

A DC-10 air tanker is assisting firefighters on a fire near Monterrey, Mexico

About this time 10 years ago the Martin Mars, the 747, and two MAFFS air tankers assisted firefighters in Mexico.

Wildfires near Monterrey, Mexico
Map showing the location of wildfires (in red) southwest of Monterrey, Mexico 3:48 p.m. CDT March 28, 2021.

One of the DC-10 air tankers, T-912, has started a contract with the state of Coahuila to assist firefighters battling a fire 20 miles southwest of Monterrey in Mexico. Today was its first day of operations but when we spoke to John Gould, President of 10 Tanker at 2:45 p.m. CDT today March 28, the aircraft was on the ground waiting for an improvement in the weather.

They are working and reloading out of the airport in Laredo, Texas about 160 miles northeast of the fire.

The fire they will be dropping retardant on initially is just west of the Coahuila/Nuevo León state line. According to heat detected by satellites it appears to be several thousand acres, while a fire about 4 miles to the east in Nuevo León looks to be more than 22,000 acres. Both fires are near Highway 20.

Wildfires near Monterrey, Mexico
Wildfires southwest of Monterrey, Mexico 3:48 p.m. CDT March 28, 2021.

“Beautiful country there,”  Mr. Gould told Fire Aviation. “Very steep and challenging country for fighting fire. The state of Coahuila is providing the aerial supervision aircraft and we have put one of our pilots with lead plane and Air Tactical Group Supervisor experience in the right seat.”

Fire SW of Monterrey in Coahuila, Mexico
Fire SW of Monterrey in Coahuila, Mexico. Noon March 26, 2021. 10 Tanker photo.
Fire SW of Monterrey in Coahuila, Mexico
Fire SW of Monterrey in Coahuila, Mexico. Noon March 26, 2021. 10 Tanker photo.
Fire SW of Monterrey in Coahuila, Mexico
From high altitude, this is the general area of the fires, SW of Monterrey in Coahuila, Mexico. March 27, 2021. 10 Tanker photo.

In 2011 the 747 air tanker, two C-130’s with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) from Peterson Air Force base in Colorado Springs, and the Martin Mars worked on fires in northern Mexico. The C-130’s were reloading at Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio, Texas while the 747 worked out of Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas.

The Martin Mars was  based at Lake Amistad reservoir near Del Rio, Texas. The lake straddles the U.S./Mexico border, and the aircraft was moored on the U.S. side.

Map of wildfires in northwest Mexico

(UPDATED at 3:28 p.m. PDT June 12, 2020)

The map below shows heat on fires detected by satellites over the last two days only, and does not include the previous five days like the map farther down.

Fires northwest Mexico
Heat detected on fires in northwest Mexico during the 48-hour period ending at 3:20 p.m. PDT June 12, 2020.

(Originally published at 2:43 p.m. PDT June 11, 2020)

wildfires in northwest Mexico fires
Map showing the location of heat from fires in northwest Mexico detected by a satellite, updated at 2:30 p.m. PDT June 11, 2020.

The smoke map we posted earlier today showed a great deal of smoke being created in northwest Mexico. Here is a map with the locations of those fires.

Smoke forecast and Red Flag Warnings for Sunday Oct. 27

Smoke will affect areas in Arizona, New Mexico, and southern California

smoke forecast October 27, 2019
Forecast for vertically integrated (high level) smoke at 5 p.m. PDT October 27, 2019.

On Sunday October 27 smoke from wildfires in northwest Mexico will affect areas in southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

smoke forecast October 27, 2019
Forecast for near surface (low level) smoke at 5 p.m. PDT October 27, 2019.
Red Flag Warnings
Red Flag Warnings as of 7 p.m. PDT October 26, 2019. Times are CDT.

The smoke in Mexico has been coming from the fires shown on the map below.

fires wildfires northwest Mexico
Map showing heat detected on wildfires in northwest Mexico as last as 1:36 p.m. PDT October 26, 2019.