Trinidad and Tobago reports over 1,000 bushfires since beginning of 2024

Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) recorded about 1,036 bushfires in just two months at the beginning of 2024. The number is triple that of last year. The firefighters are struggling to manage the situation and combat the increase in fires. 

According to the reports, these fires created a risk to wildlife and destroyed the agricultural infrastructure around the farmlands. The president of the Fire Service Association of T&T Second Division- Keone Guy, disclosed that in the previous year, the nation reported 355 cases of bushfires.

Now, the firefighters are struggling to overcome the issues due to limited resources. They are lacking in manpower by 20 percent.

The areas affected by the bushfires are M2 Ring Road near the Debe Secondary School and the University of the West Indies South Campus. The Southern Division alone had counted 384 bushfires. 

As per sources, the situation is so bad that residents of Ridgewood Gardens and Golconda fled from their homes as their areas were under the smoke. The fire has exceeded Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension, near the Golconda turnoff. 

“Bushfires are not just in the Southern Division but in other areas as well. Due to the size of the geographical area in the South, there has been an inadequate number of appliances and shortage of manpower”, added Guy.

A thick blanket of smoke covered the areas of Central Trinidad for several hours, which impacted the health of many people.

The condition of farmers is pitiful as their crops are burnt to the ground, and due to bushfires, their valuable agricultural infrastructure and crops are damaged. 

These bushfires cause severe damage to wildlife and result in the extinction of snakes from the forests. Many snakes have been found in the urban areas in February. A large snake was also recovered from the car in Central Trinidad. 

The authorities are trying to manage the situation with everything in their power and contacting forest conservators.