Forest Fire Imperils Mayan Ruins, Mayor in Guatemala Says

A month-old forest fire burning in the dense jungle of Guatemala’s northern El Peten province threatens to damage renowned Mayan ruins, an official said Friday.

“The situation is touchy, and we fear the fire will arrive at the archeological park of Tikal,” Mayor Santiago Puga Reynoso of Flores, a resort town 140 miles northeast of Guatemala City, said in a telephone interview.

Tikal, a major center of the Mayan culture that flourished in the years 300 to 800 in much of what is now Guatemala, Belize, northern Honduras and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, holds extensive ruins and the highest pyramids of the Mayan civilization.

Flores, located 25 miles southeast of Tikal, is a departure point for air and overland travelers to the ruins. Puga said the town is considering asking the United States for help by sending firefighting planes to spray water and foam on the blaze.