Xiguacán Burned Down

People are posting photos on Facebook of the huge fire at Xiguacán started when a stupid cantoya lantern landed on their palapa roof. What a shame to see that lovely property ruined. I hope no one was hurt. I especially hope those stupid lanterns will now be forever banned. That's the second such fire in the past 4 years and the worst by far.

We are heartbroken for the affected owners. If any owners at Xiguacán require emergency lodging for themselves, family, friends or paying guests please contact us directly. We'll be compassionate under these tragic circumstances.

Barry & Sandra

What a way to start the year. Rob, (or anyone) what OTA TV channels carry local news and at what time? Thanks in advance.

What a way to start the year. Rob, (or anyone) what OTA TV channels carry local news and at what time? Thanks in advance.

There are no local TV channels of any kind.

There are no local TV channels of any kind.

Too bad. But thanks anyway.

we we next door at Puerto del Sol when this fire broke out. For pictures and my take on "sky lanterns" check out my almost daily blog at www.zihuathyme.wordpress.com

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KO

What tragic news; I hope no one was injured as a result of this regrettable accident.

Those Globos de Cantoya are a menace.

I certainly agree the lanterns should be outlawed but I think the palapa roofs over open flame stoves/ovens are pretty stupid also. Open fires of any kind should be outlawed and palaypa roofs banned or fireproofed.

I certainly agree the lanterns should be outlawed but I think the palapa roofs over open flame stoves/ovens are pretty stupid also. Open fires of any kind should be outlawed and palaypa roofs banned or fireproofed.

¡Ubícate, güey! You cannot ban palapas in poverty-stricken Mexico where they have been used as roofing material for thousands of years. Before the cantoya lanterns we rarely ever had an accidental palapa fire here. Folks were instinctively careful, even at restaurants. Open fires should be outlawed? Man, I'm sure you mean well, but that is even more unrealistic than your other comment.

A good start would be some zoning/building codes for commercial districts. Otherwise don't complain about the lanterns and just BURN, BABY, BURN~

Here is a video I found online....
Facebook Video from ABC Zihuatanejo

How sad, such a lovely place. it will definitely change the view. I hope everyone is ok and finds a place to stay.

Thanks, KO, for the report on the fire…what a pity that a little lantern would cause such destruction!

We live on a Southern California beach, one of the ones that is burned pretty much completely about every 40 years. Our house is still one of the cottages from 1927, we may be next.

We are STILL allowed to replace an existing wood shake roof with a wood shake roof. Total insanity, and we are in the completely, totally, thoroughly regulated US.

Hopefully there were no injuries during the fire. Our thoughts to those that lost jobs during this accident.

We were absolutely gutted when we saw the huge fire above Playa Madera. As beautiful as the lanterns were, they have no place in an area where the consequences can be so dire.

Our prayers go out to everyone affected by this horrible trajedy.

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Fine Art Photographer. Images are available for purchase here: Ward Cameron on Pixels.com

Our sympathies to those affected.
We live in an area that sees lots of wildfires. We put on a metal roof, non-combustible siding and a lawn around most of the house to try and be safe.

Our next door neighbors just returned from emptying the freezer in their friends unit in the "lower" part of the facility. Their friends are out of country and had rented their unit for the holidays.

They came back with the freezer stuff because the power is out, and reported that except for being dirty, the unit was fine.

Wish we could provide details, but we did see the freezer stuff coming out of their car and going into their freezer for preservation.

Hopefully other units survived.

Thanks, KO, for the report on the fire…what a pity that a little lantern would cause such destruction!

We watched as a few dozen lanterns lifted-off last night from Playa Principal, headed directly towards La Madera. We even saw one land, still burning brightly, in the water.
A friend reports there were some lanterns being launched from Playa La Ropa last night that were the size of large beach umbrellas.

That's insane!

Our next door neighbors just returned from emptying the freezer in their friends unit in the "lower" part of the facility. Their friends are out of country and had rented their unit for the holidays.

They came back with the freezer stuff because the power is out, and reported that except for being dirty, the unit was fine.

Wish we could provide details, but we did see the freezer stuff coming out of their car and going into their freezer for preservation.

Hopefully other units survived.

Just sent you an email regarding the "lower" building and the owners whom your neighbors so kindly assisted. If you could reply, I'd appreciate it greatly!

A local friend posted a pic of someone launching a lantern while watching the hotel burn. WTF?

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Fine Art Photographer. Images are available for purchase here: Ward Cameron on Pixels.com

Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and prayers from Xiguacan. Just a brief update. The building was evacuated successfully and no owners or guests were hurt. A big thank you to La Casa Que Canta for their assistance allowing residents and guests to gather in their lobby during this tragic event. The top penthouse suite was a complete loss. Several units below the penthouse suite in the south building sustained varying levels of damage due to burning falling debris landing on palapa's below and starting additional fires on all sides of the building. The fire department had challenges as well, combined with limited water and limited access due to all the holiday traffic, it just became the perfect storm resulting in what started as a small fire going to out of control. The marines sent two crews with higher pressure water hoses on their trucks, unfortunately, not until after the fire was out of control. Traffic from the passerby's that parked their cars and got out to watch the fire, significantly inhibited the additional resources from reaching the fire location.

The site cleanup began yesterday and will continue over the next few weeks, followed by the rebuild, hopefully this time without a palapa roof.

A good start would be some zoning/building codes for commercial districts. Otherwise don't complain about the lanterns and just BURN, BABY, BURN~

Thanks for reminding us that assholes are present everywhere...

A good start would be some zoning/building codes for commercial districts. Otherwise don't complain about the lanterns and just BURN, BABY, BURN~

Thanks for reminding us that assholes are present everywhere...

Yeah, I had to just shake my head at that his remarks, too.

A good start would be some zoning/building codes for commercial districts. Otherwise don't complain about the lanterns and just BURN, BABY, BURN~

Viejo, were you born that stupid or have you spent your life practicing to be come that dumb? Either way you are unfixable, as stupid can't be fixed!

What an insensative statement-----

No, not born stupid just learned to solve problems and not throw darts at symptoms unlike some message board owners. Looking at lanterns as the cause of the fires is short sighted. The lanterns are a symptom not the problem. The solution is to gradually move away from flammable building materials. It all starts in the commercial districts with zoning and codes.

Even someone as stupid as me can surely see that without name calling and shooting the messenger.

During my stays in the area I have seen palaypa roofs cause two fires. One was an electrical short circuit which lit up the palm fronds. Another was a palaypa covered cooking area near six beautiful palapa covered homes; lukily (or good planning?) a gas motor driven pump connected to the swimming pool quelled the flames.

I the problem is not "fixed" then you will continue to have fires due to palaypa roofs it they will continue to BURN, BABY, BURN! Have a nice day!

"During my stays in the area I have seen palaypa roofs cause two fires."

This, I sincerely doubt!

"During my stays in the area I have seen palaypa roofs cause two fires."

This, I sincerely doubt!

Why?

Read it again. How can a palapa roof CAUSE a fire, much less two????

Yes, the root cause of the fires was the fuel provided by the palm fronds. True, there also had to be oxygen and ignition. Man has no control over the oxygen, the ignition was from two different sources, the common denominator (root cause) was the palaypa roofs.

After your idiot remark while our home was being destroyed we are amazed you have the balls to raise your head out of the cesspool you call your life. Pathetic.

B & S

So sorry for your loss. Godspeed!

I am truly sorry for your loss and nothing in my posts was directed at you.

I simply pointed out to Rob that palapa roofs are root cause of fires and they should be prohited. He started calling names, as his practice, and pointed out the palm fronds are a common roofing material for lower income folks. Everyone understands that cost is a factor and many times flammable materials are used simply because they are cheap. My point was to start with zoning/building codes in the commercial district. And the thread exploded from there.

As a general statement for this board, name calling does not accomplish anything. Shooting the messenger or other such attempted solutions are the stuff wars are made of.

I do sympathize with you and hope your rebuild will be as beautiful as the original.

I am truly sorry for your loss and nothing in my posts was directed at you.

I simply pointed out to Rob that palapa roofs are root cause of fires and they should be prohited. He started calling names, as his practice, and pointed out the palm fronds are a common roofing material for lower income folks. Everyone understands that cost is a factor and many times flammable materials are used simply because they are cheap. My point was to start with zoning/building codes in the commercial district. And the thread exploded from there.

As a general statement for this board, name calling does not accomplish anything. Shooting the messenger or other such attempted solutions are the stuff wars are made of.

I do sympathize with you and hope your rebuild will be as beautiful as the original.

Please point out to me where I called you names, güey. I suggested you remember this is Mexico, not Arizona. The problem is not the material used but the banned cantoya lanterns. Why you choose to blame the victims only you know. Suggesting you are some kind of "messenger" is more wishful thinking on your part than a stretch of the imagination. Personally I, like millions of my Mexican compatriots and millions of our visitors, love the fact that we still use natural materials such as palapa and adobe for building homes both for the poor and wealthy. I can only guess you are a fan of cantoya lanterns looking to avoid some cognitive dissonance. The names you were called that I did not delete were in direct proportion to the lack of respect you displayed for the affected, and I would add for our culture in general.

January 02, 2016, 14:21

Please take a look at the above and your follow on-oh, excuse me, calling one an "asshole" is not name calling.

We will doubtful never agree on other aspects of this post.

Let's set the record straight here. Rob did not call you an asshole. I am the one who thanked you for reminding us that assholes are everywhere based on your asinine comments. As a resident of Xiguacan, and the person that was running through the burning building evacuating sleeping occupants, and then spending the next five hours watching the homes of many of our closest friends being destroyed, your comments were tasteless and remain in line with those of someone I would consider and asshole for making such comments. Secondly, as a resident of Arizona when I am not in Zihuatanejo, I would ask you to remove all references to Arizona from your postings, as your an embarrassment to the people of the Great State of Arizona with your asinine posting Burn Baby Burn...If you had any sense at all you just shut up at this point.