Morass Fire in Negril

Thick, dark, frightening smoke from a morass fire covered the Negril resort area recently. The incident quickly became a public nuisance to tourists and other patrons in the area.

President of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, Richard Wallace is calling for an urgent intervention from the National Environment and Planning Agency, NEPA to prevent a repeat. On Friday, sections of the Negril resort town grew dark, with unpleasant smoke caused by a morass fire.  

President Richard Wallace says the Integrated Water, Land And Ecosystem Management in Caribbean small island developing states, IWECO project being executed by NEPA is causing anxiety in relation to the amount of time being taken to re-wet the Negril morass land to reduce fires. Wallace says these incidents significantly impact tourists in the parish and businesses that benefit from their patronage.

While the source of the fire is unknown Wallace says morass lands are known to produce a highly flammable substance. This was the second fire in just over a year. 

Reporter: Jhanielle Powell