A fire burned more than 60 cabanas and shops in a small tourist town in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca early Friday, but left no casualties, according to Punta Zicatela Mayor Román Valencia said
MEXICO CITY — A fire burned more than 60 cabanas and shops in a small tourist town in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca early Friday, but left no casualties, according to Punta Zicatela Mayor Román Valencia.
Authorities say they believe the fire was caused by a short circuit.
Valencia spoke during a live broadcast from his Facebook account several hours after the fire started, which showed him walking through a scene of devastation littered with debris, charred palm trees, twisted tin roofs and piles of ash. Neighbors were helping to clean up while rescue teams continued to extinguish the last embers.
“Not a single palapa (a type of open-sided shelter with a thatched roof) was left intact, it took everything,” said the mayor. “A total loss.”
Punta Zicatela is a small beach town south of the tourist hub of Puerto Escondido. It draws mainly Mexican tourists seeking a vacation away from big hotels or resorts.
The local prosecutor’s office said that the fire was probably caused by an electrical fault, because no traces of flammable material were found.
