Note from Theresa Comber and photos by Bob Farmer
We had a VERY frightening situation this morning - 6 am and one of the palapa casitas at the beach front Costa Brava RV Resort caught fire - eventually with tragic results as I believe 6 units all along the north wall were completely destroyed, propelled along by exploding tanks, cars, boats, four wheelers, all melted to bare metal. Thankfully, none were occupied and no injuries. With flames 100 feet high, the cascading embers even covered our East Cape RV Resort and were all over the shore and in the water. The worst of it is that early mornings there is no water pressure in the entire pueblo. So, the poor, desperate folks at Costa Brava had literally no defense. With few residents, they did a stellar job moving cars, four wheelers, hustling hoses, eventually controlling what could have been a firestorm in that RV Resort full of palapas. The most important thing that happened was when Jose Luis Gonzalez, the dirt excavator, and his sons arrived with his two water trucks. Clearly they are the Los Barriles ad hoc fire department. They beat the Buena Vista Fire Department, which showed up about 45 minutes after the onset. There will be conjecture as to how it started - after speaking with 'Eddy', the RV park manager, he said he had turned off the electricity to all those units two weeks prior. It's been hot - perhaps spontaneous combustion with fluids; perhaps mice in a car or RV. Here are a few observations for any palapa/trailer situations. When leaving, disconnect the propane tanks so they can be whisked easily away from a flame. Disconnect batteries in cars, RVs, four wheelers. Dump any gas from any cans and boat tanks. Leave keys with a nieghbor so vehicles can be moved. Install a fire suppression system on the roofs - they are easy, inexpensive and could save assets in a fire. (We have them installed on all palapas at the East Cape RV Resort - stop by and we'll show you how they work.) The BIG problem remains - how to have sufficient water pressure 24 hours a day; having no pressure in the wee hours of the morning (which I believe is specifically by SAPA and controled at the pumps) proved tragic today. I invite an ad hoc group to visit with me to insist that SAPA come to their senses about this issue. Theresa Comber, East Cape RV Resort, combertheresa@hotmail.com, 14-10231.
