Fortis Belize Recognizes Efforts in Wildfire Response

Cayo District, Belize (Wednesday, May 29, 2024) – Fortis Belize Limited (FBL) executive management is taking a moment to recognize the collective effort of our wonderful employees and business partners. Their tireless work over the past week to contain the spread of a wildfire in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve has been instrumental. FBL also wants to emphasize the importance of working together in times of crises such as this.

Officials estimate that over 34,000 acres of forest were destroyed due to the wildfire that quickly spread on May 17, 2024.

Astrum Helicopters was retained to assist with aerial firefighting efforts. Their team dropped 235 buckets of water over four days to stop the spread of the fast-moving wildfire near Chalillo Dam.

In collaboration with the Belize Forest Department, Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD), many private entities and individual volunteers, every available FBL employee responded to a large wildfire between Saturday, May 18 and Thursday, May 24, 2024. Staff immediately carried out firefighting activities to keep the fast-moving fire from becoming a risk to the Chalillo Hydroelectric Dam Facility and the associated power transmission system. The transmission system, owned by Belize Electricity Limited (BEL), allows FBL to transmit electricity from the dam to BEL for distribution to their customers.

Due to the size of the blaze and unpredictable wind shifts, FBL secured the services of several partners to assist in the response effort. This included Astrum Helicopters, whose team was responsible for aerial firefighting operations and spent more than 13 hours dropping 235 buckets of water over four days to extinguish hot spots and contain persistent fire zones. Bulldozers opened up roads while water trucks sprayed along the open roads to help prevent the fire from crossing from one side to the other, and wildfire expert Eli Miller led a controlled burn that eventually stopped the wildfire from progressing toward the electricity infrastructure and causing damage.

Fortis Belize staff used water packs to extinguish flames and prevent hot spots from developing.

Fortis Belize President and CEO Kay Menzies emphasized the gravity of the situation, saying, “The combined work of our colleagues responding to the forest fire this week was unprecedented. Safety measures were extremely important as the risk to life and to critical infrastructure used to generate and supply electricity was very real. The fact that we averted a disaster that could have had implications nationally, and that those involved did so safely and without incident, is a testament to the dedication and swift action of our team and partners.”

She continued, “On behalf of the entire Fortis Belize executive team, thank you to our employees who jumped on board, many of whom were up early and returned late each day working to stop this wildfire, and some of whom even brought adult family members along as volunteers. I also want to express thanks to our corporate partners and their teams who assisted in responding. This week’s events are a timely reminder that when faced with a crisis, the value of a committed team and willing partners can make all the difference in the

outcome.”

The wildfire became worse during periods of high wind as seen here during an evening fire watch.

According to officials, as of Friday, May 24, 34,162 acres, or about 31% of the Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve, had been destroyed by fire, a number that is expected to grow. The Chalillo Dam has a generating capacity of 7.3 MW and serves as a water storage facility for the Mollejon and Vaca dams. Together, all three dams are capable of generating 51.5 megawatts of energy, enough to power as much as 40,000 homes, and the 32.8 billion gallon Chalillo Reservoir allows generation to continue throughout the dry season.

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