Hampered by strong winds, some 150 firefighters this week successfully battled two fires in the Cerro del Tepopote, an extension of the Parque Metropolitano in Zapopan.
The blazes affected an area of 90 hectares and were the first serious forest fires of the season in Jalisco.
The first fire began Saturday afternoon and seemed to be under control by Sunday evening when another one broke out as the remaining flames were fanned by robust winds.
Firefighters from several agencies, including the municipality of Zapopan, Jalisco Civil Protection and the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Territorial (Semadet), managed to bring the second fire under control by Wednesday morning.
Despite the breadth of the fire, only eight hectares of the cerro, which borders but does not belong to the Primavera Forest conservation zone, was severely damaged.
On Tuesday police arrested a 33-year-old man form Merida, Yucatan, who admitted to having started the initial blaze after he lost control of a small camp fire he built to heat water for coffee.
Zapopan Mayor Hector Robles issued a statement Wednesday saying he would suspend all existing licenses for the development of new subdivisions in the area until further notice.
Jalisco Civil Protection’s helicopter was mobilized during the firefighting effort to help douse the flames. Zapopan and Jalisco authorities confirmed this week that they will be teaming up to hire three special fire-fighting helicopters in the next few weeks as the dry season becomes more intense and the possibility of forest fires increases. Zapopan will pay for the rental of one helicopter, estimated at around five million pesos, while the state government will cover the other two.