A fire broke out on Tuesday at the intersection of Calzada and J, in the area commonly known as "El Hueco", in Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución municipality, Havana, following the burning of grass by workers who were involved in the restoration of the space as a basketball court.
According to Pedro Lizardo Garces Escalona in a video posted on Facebook, the workers set fire to grass that had been cleared in the area in order to clean it up.
"In an effort to clean up the area, they set fire to a patch of grass that had been trimmed in the place, and well, there’s a strong wind here which has caused that small fire to spread to other nearby places," he explained.
The strong wind present at the time was the factor that transformed a small bonfire into a larger disaster, creating a dense layer of smoke that, according to the witness, even crossed G Street.
The location was attended by firefighters, the top authorities of the Communist Party —including the first secretary—, the president of the Popular Council of La Rampa, and Public Health personnel.
The images of the incident show a fire truck operating on the site amid dense smoke and debris on the ground.
Neighbors and family members proceeded to evacuate elderly and more vulnerable individuals from the area during the disaster.
"Some grandparents, the same families have proceeded to evacuate the most vulnerable, and so far, well, efforts are being made intensively by the firefighters to extinguish this fire," the witness stated in his video.
The fire was reported later as contained by Roilán Rodríguez Barbán, identified as the first secretary of the Communist Party in Plaza de la Revolución, who posted on Facebook that there were no significant damages beyond the visibly affected area.
The fire adds to a series of recurring fires in Vedado and the Plaza de la Revolución municipality in recent months, linked to the deterioration of urban infrastructure and uncontrolled burns.
Among the most recent events are the fire at 13 and H, which occurred on February 26, and the fire in the basement of the Focsa Building, reported on February 22.
At the national level, Cuba is experiencing a dry season with a high incidence of incidents: as of March 24, 34 wildfires have been addressed in conservation areas, affecting 1,764 hectares, with the lack of fuel for fire trucks being one of the factors worsening the response to these emergencies.
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