Guatemala, Sololá- Urgent help is needed to fight the wildfire that began a month ago on the slopes of Volcano Santo Tomas in Xejuyup, Nahualá, Sololá, 3.5 hours drive from Guatemala City, still has not been brought under control. 35,550 residents in 19 communities have been going through more than two weeks of emergency with no drinking water available.
The fire on the slope of the volcano began February 10 and is approximately 6 to 10 hours away from the surrounding communities. Local authorities have been alarmed but little has been done to help. The communities have been organizing themselves, 1,500 untrained firefighters, into groups to make rounds to control the fire. Food supply is getting low. 328 servings of grains have been delivered today but are insufficient to sustain the basic needs of 2,744 families that are actively fighting the fire.
"We hope to get a thousand or two servings of grains (corn, beans, rice, and sugar) for our firefighters. Right now, we're only getting 328 servings delivered. Our firefighters are untrained, risking their lives, and leaving their farmland aside to do what's needed. Many of these families earn less than $2 per day," says Cristobal Axtup, an executive director of Cooperative Nahualá and non-profit Roots & Wings International, whose office sits at the base of the volcano. Axtup's Cooperative Nahualá has provided hoes, helmets, rakes, masks, glasses, axes, gloves, radio communication, lights, and tents to help the community firefighters.
To date the fire has destroyed an estimated 2,965 acres of forest and habitats of species and individuals on this coffee-growing highland. The National System for Prevention and Control of Forest (Sipecif) sent out 75 people to monitor the situation but so far has been unable to control the fire. Appeals have been made to the Governor of Sololá, authorities in Santa Catarina Nahualá and Ixtahuacán, and the central government.
"The Guatemalan government coordinated with the Mexican government to send two helicopters to conduct an evaluation, but nothing has been done to control the fire," says Axtup. "Our community firefighters walk six hours on foot to the place of the fire incidents. Without the right tools and expertise, it's almost impossible to do it all by ourselves."
Volcano Santo Tomas is located northwest of Xejuyup, Nahualá, Sololá. It surrounds the communities of Quetzaltenango, Retalhuleu and Suchitepéquez. Majority of the population get natural resources and drinking water from the volcano and River Ixtacapa.
About Cooperative Nahualá
Located at the base of Volcano Santo Tomas, Cooperative Nahualá brings together nearly the whole community of 126 farming families. With Fair Trade dividends, cooperative members have received training and assistance to improve the quality of their land and coffee and have participated in a river clean up and reforestation project in the Ixtacapa River area. Cooperative Nahualá works closely with Washington D.C.-based Roots & Wings International which provides funding and university scholarship to indigenous students in the community.
To get a more thorough understanding of the Santo Tomas volcano fire or to help, please contact Cristobal Axtup at 502-5177-6574 or contact Tammy Chiang
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Pictures: Cristobal Axtup
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