The World - News from July 23, 1989

A fire that has been raging out of control in the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula for the past two months has turned “into an ecological disaster” and authorities are doing little to stop it, a leading Mexican conservation group charged. The Group of 100, made up of artists and intellectuals, said in a statement that the fire has destroyed more than 300,000 acres in Quintana Roo state and is spreading at the rate of about 5,000 acres a day. Flames are approaching the Caribbean beach resort of Cancun, the group added. Mexican officials denied they have been lax in fighting the blaze, noting that 5,000 firefighters are on the scene. The Group of 100 said the blaze was caused by careless hunters, campers and farmers, who use a slash-and-burn method to clear land.