Massive industrial fire in Mérida’s north continues to burn

Carlos Rosado van der Gracht
Carlos Rosado van der Gracht
Born in Mérida, Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican/Canadian blogger, photographer and adventure expedition leader. He holds degrees in multimedia, philosophy, and translation from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.
spot_img
The early afternoon fire, which began in Mérida’s north, continued to burn the next morning. Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine

A massive fire in an industrial park north of Mérida began Tuesday around 12:40 p.m. As of Wednesday morning, it was still burning.

The blaze quickly spread to another five surrounding warehouses, causing damage that will run into several millions.

As the industrial park fire began to pick up around 12:50 p.m. Tuesday, a large column of black smoke could be seen for miles. Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine

Some of the warehouses belonged to or were being occupied by Chapur, Izzi, and Mega Empack.

Yucatán’s police chief, Luis Saidén Ojeda, says experts speculate the fire was caused by a short circuit.

A fire north of Merida continued to burn at great intensity overnight and billowed toxic fumes around the area. Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine

A contingent of 150 firefighters has been working to temper the blaze. Workers were quickly evacuated, preventing serious injury or loss of life.

On social media, many comments focused on how fortunate it was that the fire coincided with rain as if the area had been dry, containment would have been presumably much more difficult. 

Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine

The fumes from the smoke have been detected across much of northern Mérida since the fire began, especially in Fraccionamiento Las Américas, Xcantún and Francisco de Montejo.

By Wednesday morning, winds pushed most of the smoke in a northwestern direction, directly across Fraccionamiento Las Américas. Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine

Several schools in the area have been closed due to complaints of headaches and nausea. 

Joggers who run along the path between Las Américas and the industrial park have been warned to suspend their activities. 

As of 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, the large fire continued to burn, though the smoke turned from black to white. Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine
spot_img
Verified by ExactMetrics