HANOVER, Jamaica— Head of the Westmoreland Fire Department, Assistant Superintendent Rudolph Seaton has revealed that while the Negril Great Morass fire has been partially subsided, there is a smoke nuisance hovering over the area.

Some areas have been blanketed by smoke which is impacting hotels in the vicinity.

The Negril Great Morass fire has been on and off for approximately a week. The fire started again sometime after 2:00 Wednesday afternoon and was extinguished. However, approximately 4:20 am on Thursday, the department received another call that the morass was again on fire and this time it was heading towards properties.

The pre-dawn fire destroyed three gazebos with thatched roofing on the Kool Runnings Waterpark property which is located on the Hanover section of Negril.

Negril is shared by Hanover Western and Westmoreland Western.

The area is currently without electricity as a result of damage to Jamaica Public Service infrastructure. The damage is currently being repaired.

President of the Negril Chamber of Commerce Elaine Allen Bradley told the Observer Online that the resort town is currently under severe pressure.

“Negril is under siege by man and nature. And the reason for saying that is we are having nature where the sea is throwing back everything at us that we have thrown in the sea over the years and the seaweed…, everything’s coming up at us. Now, we have the fire with the morass burning. So, we are being devastated from all sections and we can’t see anybody doing anything to mitigate these things,” Allen Bradley said.

“The morass is not just today or yesterday. The morass has been burning ever since. Years now, and nobody has got the willpower to try to mitigate these circumstances that we are under now,” she added.

“The other thing is, Europe has tried to help us to try and wet the morass but that’s another story. And so we need somebody with willpower to try to take the bull by the horns and do something because honestly, it’s not going to get any better. It’s going to get worse with climate change.”

“We are saying now, we need the morass to be re-wetted right now. They have to re-wet the morass. They have cut canals and drained it out. It has to be restored or else we will not have the seven-mile stretch of beach that we sell,” the chamber president added.

Allen Bradley is referring to the US$3-million five-year Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (IWEco Project).

The project was started in December 2016 with funding from the Global Environment Facility and is managed by the National Environment and Planning Agency. However, the project is yet to be completed.

Senior Strategist/ adviser in the Tourism Ministry, Delano Seiveright told the Observer Online the ministry is aware of the situation.

“The Ministry of Tourism is aware of the situation and we are also aware of the fact that the Jamaica Fire Brigade and other relevant authorities are on top of the situation and are handling it as best as they possibly can given the circumstances. However, for now, we are told that most of our tourism establishments are okay and continue to function despite some nuisance from the smoke. However, we expect it to clear up as soon as possible,” Seiveright said.

The fire department head said the area is currently impacted by heavy winds and as such, his team is on standby should the need arise.

Anthony Lewis