2021 Guanaja fire

On 2 October 2021, a large fire occurred in the town of El Cayo on a cay named Bonacca which is part of an island named Guanaja off the north coast of Honduras. The fire started around daybreak and spread quickly into businesses and homes. It forced hundreds of residents to evacuate and flee for safety.[1] No-one was killed; four people were injured in the blaze and hospitalized. The cause of the fire is still unknown.[2]

2021 Guanaja fire
Date2 October 2021
LocationGuanaja Island, Bay Islands, Honduras
Coordinates16.441877°N 85.887055°W / 16.441877; -85.887055
TypeFire
CauseUnknown
Non-fatal injuries4

Events

Start of the fire

The unexpected fire started around dawn and minutes after the blaze had sparked, it had already spread into structures, which were mostly made out of wood. During the blaze, people had raced into their homes to grab any of their belongings as quickly as possible and grab buckets full of water to keep the blaze from growing any further, although they struggled to bring it under control because they have no fire service on the island.[3] Several videos of the fire show the inferno spreading quickly and people evacuating out the island by boat with all of their furniture and belongings.[4]

Emergency response

Hours later, while the fire was still burning, the Honduran Air Force kept dropping water on the blaze to douse the flames. After the fire was under control, police helped people gather what's left of their possessions.[5] Humanitarian aid was provided for people mostly affected by the blaze that occurred during daybreak. Some shelters were put on the main island of Guanaja for residents who lost their homes.[6]

Aftermath

As a result, the fire destroyed over 200 homes and businesses and damaged 120 more.[7] More than 400 people were displaced because of the inferno.[8] There were no deaths reported and there were only 4 injuries. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire was fully contained at around 11:00am (CST) on 3 October 2021.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Hundreds flee as fire ravages Honduras island of Guanaja". aljazeera.com. Aljazeera. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  2. "Fire devastates Caribbean resort island of Guanaja in Honduras". independent.co.uk. Emily Atkinson. Archived from the original on 2021-10-03. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  3. "Major fire ravages Honduran resort island of Guanaja". scmp.com. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  4. "Fire devastates Honduras' Caribbean resort island of Guanaja". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  5. "Fire ravages Honduran resort island". france24.com. france24. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  6. "Desolation seizes Guanaja families a day after the great fire". today.in-24.com. Bonnie. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  7. "200 Homes and Businesses Destroyed by Fire in Caribbean Resort Island". natureworldnews.com. Miguel Brown. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  8. "Honduras: Fire rages through Caribbean resort island of Guanaja". news.sky.com. Sky News. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  9. "DREF Plan of Action Honduras: Fire" (PDF). reliefweb.int. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
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