Residents of several areas in the Commewijne district have been experiencing serious nuisance from smoke clouds caused by grass and forest fires for more than a week. Especially in the early morning hours, when there is little wind, the smoke lingers over residential areas. District Commissioner Rajiv Ramsahai confirms that he has received complaints and has also observed the situation himself.
The Key News editorial team has received several complaints and video footage from residents. Drone footage clearly shows thick clouds of smoke covering large parts of the area between Palm Village, on the Suriname River, and Mariënburg. The persistent smoke is causing growing concern among residents.
According to District Commissioner Ramsahai, grass and forest fires can have several causes. He does not rule out that some fires were caused by human actions, but points out that the persistent heat may also play a role, in his view. Determining the exact cause is not easy, according to the district commissioner.
Fire service faces equipment shortage
Ramsahai acknowledges that the fire service faces major challenges in combating the fires. According to him, the fire service in Commewijne does not have sufficient equipment to tackle such fires effectively.
“If this were abroad, helicopters would have been deployed, but in Suriname we are not at that stage. In recent years, no investments have been made in fire service matters in the district,” the district commissioner said.
He stresses that the limited availability of firefighting resources and specialised equipment makes it difficult to bring the fire hotspots under control, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.
Fires at multiple locations
According to information received by Key News, grass fires have also broken out at plantation Johan en Margaretha, located on the Commewijne River. The smoke is being carried by the wind to other parts of the district, causing nuisance also for residents who do not live directly near the fire hotspots.
In addition, a fire is said to have been deliberately started several days ago in a wooded area near Voorburg. According to the information received, the fire spread in the direction of Palm Village and plantation Lust en Rust.
On Sunday morning, the fires caused particularly thick smoke for several hours, leaving several residential areas under a blanket of smoke.
District Commissioner does not describe situation as a disaster
Although the smoke has persisted for days, District Commissioner Ramsahai believes that the situation should not yet be classified as a disaster. He also does not assess the danger posed by the fires as particularly high.
That assessment contrasts with the persistent complaints Key News is receiving from residents. They are concerned about the smoke nuisance and the possible consequences for their health and living environment.
Prolonged exposure to smoke can cause health complaints, especially among children, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions. The degree of health risk depends, among other things, on the concentration of harmful substances in the air and the duration of exposure.
For the time being, it remains unclear when the fire hotspots will be fully brought under control and the smoke nuisance in Commewijne will decrease.
