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A forest fire broke out on Monday night near the Electric Diesel Central of Moa, known as "Fuel Oil Group," in the municipality of Moa, Holguín province, according to the newspaper Ahora.
"A forest fire was reported in the vicinity of the Moa Diesel Electric Plant known as Grupo Fuel Oil, around 10 PM on this March 23," the publication stated.
The fire was located about 500 meters north of the facility, towards the coast, affecting scrublands and endemic shrub thickets of the eastern region of Cuba that are particularly vulnerable to fire during dry periods.
The forces of the Fire Command 30, the rescue group from the Pedro Sotto Alba Factory, and the firefighting brigade from the plant itself maintained strict surveillance over the incident. The main authorities of the municipality arrived at the scene, and as of the time of the report, the fire did not pose a direct threat to the electrical facility.
The Moa Diesel Electric Power Plant is the largest power generation plant of its kind in Cuba.
Inaugurated in February 2015 with an investment exceeding 300 million pesos, it has 10 diesel engines and an installed capacity of 184 megawatts. It supplies energy to the nickel industry in the region and to the municipalities of Moa and Baracoa.
Its infrastructure includes a 12-kilometer pipeline to the port of Moa and two fuel tanks, each with a capacity of 12,000 cubic meters, which makes any fire in its vicinity a high-risk situation.
It is not the first time that the facility has faced a threat of this nature. On May 8, 2023, a large-scale fire affected the immediate areas around the same facility and destroyed a 110 kV transmission line, although the generating equipment was not damaged.
The fire reactivated the next day in nearby areas, about 1,000 meters from the plant, and remained a concern for several days. On that occasion, Major Ernesto William Caballero Batista described the incident as highly dangerous due to its proximity to the fuel oil storage and the strong winds that hindered the control of the flames.
The fire occurs at a particularly critical time for the region. Moa and Holguín are experiencing daily blackouts of up to 15 hours in 2026, with a deficit in the National Electric Power System of up to 2,000 megawatts.
Any damage to the Diesel Plant in Moa would have immediate and direct consequences for both the population and the nickel industry, the most important in the country.
The national context exacerbates concerns. Experts from the Forest Rangers predict a very active season of wildfires, with between 85 and 112 incidents occurring in Pinar del Río alone from January to May 2026, and a potential damage of about 4,000 hectares nationwide.
Until February of this year, 17 incidents had already been recorded affecting 130.61 hectares nationwide.
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