Building Community Fire Fighting Capacity

Wild fires, also known as forest fires, can be defined as uncontrolled or non-prescribed burning in natural ecosystems. While the earlier perception was that all fires are bad and had to be suppressed, there has since been consensus in the scientific community that fire is a natural and important factor. Fires can be beneficial in helping to release nutrients from dead organic matter, reducing accumulation of deadwood which acts as microhabitats for insect pests, and preventing grasslands and pine forests from being overrun with woody shrubs and other trees of lesser value. Additionally, some plants require fire to germinate.

There are tree types of forest fires: ground fires which occur in substrate beneath the forest floor, surface fires which occur in detritus on the forest floor and crown fires which occur along the length of trees. Crown fires are the most destructive whereby they can destroy large swathes of forests, threaten wildlife, contribute to pollution and threaten human well-being.  

 Human activities, exacerbated by the effects of climate change, is resulting in increasing rates of destructive forest fires. These activities include agriculture/ranching where fires are used to clear lands and hunting, where fire is used to lure prey.

 One tool that has been effective in the management of destructive forest fires is prescribed fires or controlled burns. As part of its outreach efforts, Ya’axché provides fire management trainings with community leaders and interested farmers in the Maya Golden Landscape of southern Belize. Among other things, famers are taught how to safely conduct prescribed fires. In the 2022 Fire season, Ya’axché supported farmers from two communities to successfully conduct prescribed burns. This support came in the provision of essential gears/equipment.

 Ya’axché has identified the need to continue to spread awareness on fire prevention and or proper management. Your continued support of our campaign will make it possible to implement vital trainings, and procure additional firefighting equipment, to farmers and community leaders in our target villages. 

Typically Belize’s fire season initiates on February 15th and ends on June 30th. In 2022, Ya'axche observed a slow commencement of the fire season however, this has not slowed down the continued fire work the organization has been undertaking. 

As a part of the continued awareness raising work, Ya'axche's COL and communication's team have been working ardously in spreading the word on the effects fire can have to local communities, farms and forests. Ya'axche's Facebook page has garnered over 10K followers from all over the country, region and world. This has proved to be one of the most effective tools utilized to spread the awareness on various important current conservation efforts including that of Fire Management. 

Below is an example of the posts made that showcases the "Tip of the Month" on Fire. 

Remember not to use fire on a windy and hot day.
If you can’t control it, don’t start it! 

We are on the onset of the dry season in Belize and to prevent risks of escaping fires we encourage everyone to be cautious when using fire for subsistence farming. Prevent wildfires by:
notifying your neighbors and community leaders of planned control burns
not starting a fire within or near a forested area
not leaving behind any potential source of ignition such as cigarettes, torch or campfires lit

Ya’axché encourages safety when conducting controlled burns.

Togther with the social media work, Ya'axche Community Outreach and Livelihood's team has also been working on the revision and updating of our radio