Firefighters have finally weathered what officials described as the worst fire in Cuba’s history, which over five days destroyed 40% of the Caribbean island’s main fuel storage facility and caused power outages.
The raging flames that ravaged a four-tank segment of the Matanzas supertanker port had died down Tuesday, and the towering plumes of thick black smoke billowing from the area were lower and now mostly gray.
Matanzas is Cuba’s largest port for crude oil and fuel imports. Cuban heavy oil, as well as heating oil and diesel, stored in 10 huge tanks at Matanzas are mainly used to generate electricity on the island.
Lightning struck a fuel tank on Friday evening. The fire spread to a second by Sunday and engulfed the area by four tanks on Monday, accompanied by massive explosions and despite the efforts of local firefighters, who were supported by more than 100 Mexican and Venezuelan reinforcements.
Firefighter Rafael Perez Garriga told Portal on the brink of the disaster that he feared the blaze would affect the country’s electricity supply.
“The situation is getting more difficult. If the thermoelectric plants are powered by this oil, the whole world will be affected, it’s electricity and it affects everything,” he said.
The communist-run country, which is under heavy US sanctions, is all but bankrupt. Frequent power cuts and bottlenecks in petrol and other goods had already led to a tense situation with isolated local protests in July after the historic unrest last summer.
On Tuesday, more helicopters joined efforts to extinguish the blaze, along with two fireboats and heavy firefighting equipment sent by Mexico.
“Due to the conditions, we have not yet been able to enter the impact area. There’s a burn and that’s why we can’t risk our lives for now,” Perez said around noon.
Later in the day, firefighters entered the area for the first time and sprayed foam and water on the still-smoldering remains.
“Today we managed to bring the fire under control,” said Rolando Vecino, head of the Ministry of the Interior’s transport department, on local state television.
Officials have not said how much fuel was lost in the fire, which destroyed all four tanks. Authorities said no oil had contaminated nearby Matanzas Bay. Still, they warned residents as far north as Havana to wear face masks and avoid acid rain due to the massive plume of smoke the fire produced.
One firefighter died and 14 were missing on Saturday when the second tank exploded, authorities said on Tuesday, correcting an earlier figure of 16 missing. Five others remain in critical condition.
Mario Sabines, governor of Matanzas province, about 130km from Havana, quipped the flames spread like an “Olympic torch” from one tank to the next, turning each one into a “cauldron”.