Illegal beach cookout likely caused recent wildfire at Half Moon Bay – DECR

A wildfire outbreak on Half Moon Bay sandbar, adjacent to Little Water Cay last Sunday (June 4) is believed to have been caused by visitors lighting fires for beach cookouts, a violation of the National Parks Ordinance.

On Sunday, after reports of the fire outbreak, officers of the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) coordinated with the Turks and Caicos National Trust and the TCI Fire Department to contain the fire, with invaluable aid also rendered by members of the public.

And although ‘team work makes the dream work’ members of the public are once again warned that it is a violation of the National Parks Ordinance to set fires within Protected Areas without a permit from the DECR.

Principally, the DECR does not grant permits for lighting fires in Half Moon Bay or Little Water Cay, due to the high fire risk and sensitive iguana habitat of the cay.

On Wednesday, the DECR provided an update, saying that upon assessment, they estimate that the affected area to be 9396.4 square metres.

The department stated: “Little Water Cay and Half-moon Bay is a popular site for tour guides and watersports operators to make campfires near the Casuarina forest, for beach cookouts.

“This activity is believed to have been the cause of the fire on the sandbar this last weekend. It is extremely dangerous to set fires near Casuarina duff as it isn't always apparent when it's on fire and it can smoulder deeply for days before conditions allow it to generate obvious flame and smoke.”

Although great efforts were made on Sunday resulting in the smouldering embers being contained within the firebreak, thereby posing no further concern - when the DECR team of

Conservation, Beach Patrol and Environmental Officers returned to the sandbar on Monday to monitor the situation, they found that due to shifting wind directions, a few embers may have breached the break, causing the inferno that dominated the afternoon. Again, the DECR coordinated a response plan calling for assistance from volunteers, the National Trust, Public Works Department, and the TCI Fire Department. Efforts continued throughout the afternoon, into the late evening, until the situation was under control.

Invasive Casuarina Pine A Fire Hazard

The DECR said fire has threatened the sandbar since the invasion by Casuarina Pine, further to the recent habitat restoration efforts have resulted in dry wood on the ground which exacerbated the fire.

They said the area has not been ideal rock iguana habitat for several years, but some iguanas were living there as the control of non-native mammals has allowed numbers to increase and their occupancy to spread.

Although the fire itself was not problematic to the ecosystemalthough habitat recovery will have to involve control of Casuarina seedlings which are encouraged by fire and other disturbancesthe fire has consumed the fuel that has been a risk for years, the department said.

“When the sandy ground opens, iguanas will be able to carry out their natural role as seed dispersers, dropping seeds of over 100 native plant species they consume, and planting them through their digging.

“Habitat and species recovery is a long-term process, and it's often challenging. As the non-native species are carefully controlled, the indigenous wildlife will recover over time, and the functional ecosystem - which hasn't been intact since the introduction of the invasive pine species, cats and rats - will return.”

The department said they along with the National Trust will continue to monitor native species recovery, and invasive species control will continue to take place.