The Jalisco state government this week showed off a new helicopter that will be used to fight forest fires over the next couple of months.
The helicopter, named Cuahtli, can carry up to 450 liters of water and foam for dousing flames, and will join four others that various agencies have at their disposal. So far this year, 96 forest fires have been reported in 36 Jalisco municipalities.
This week, more than 60 firefighters spent ten hours putting out a blaze on the Cerro del Diente, a beautiful spot popular with adventurers and hikers to the north of the metropolitan area in the Zapopan municipality. Also, around 30 firefighters were kept busy controlling a blaze in the Cerro Viejo in Tlajomulco, a national protected area running between the Macrolibramiento and Highway 15 to Jocotepec.