A fire reported at midday completely destroyed the restaurant La Molienda de Veraguas, located on the Pan-American Highway near the Rubén Cantú airfield in the city of Santiago, Veraguas province. Fire units from the Santiago Fire Department arrived at the scene to work on extinguishing the flames; however, despite the firefighters' rapid intervention, the structure was completely consumed by the fire. Fortunately, the people working inside the restaurant managed to escape in time, so no injuries or fatalities were reported, according to emergency sources. Colonel Eduardo Cheng, head of the Fire Department in Veraguas province, told this medium that investigations have already begun to determine the cause of the fire. Cheng also revealed that during the previous day, fire units made nine calls to attend fires, most of them allegedly related to the irresponsibility of people who set fire to vegetation or waste under the pretext of cleaning land. The fire chief warned that in many cases, these fires get out of control and end up affecting homes, businesses, and nearby areas, putting people's lives at risk and causing material losses. In light of this, several residents of Veraguas province who have been affected by recent fires consider it necessary for the Ministry of the Environment to publicly inform how many people are facing processes or sanctions for this type of practice, as they claim that the fires continue to occur and endanger the population without apparent consequences. The authorities reiterated the call to the public to avoid burning garbage or vegetation, especially during the dry season, due to the high risk of fire spreading.
