Residents of three communities near the University of Puerto Rico’s Botanical Garden in Río Piedras, affected by recent forest fires, recommended that the UPR Central Administration install security cameras and form neighborhood watch groups, citing suspicions the fires in the garden’s north zone may have been intentional. Botanical Garden director, agronomist Noelia López Rivera, said in written statements the institution is taking responsibility for recovery efforts and needs community trust and collaboration.
Like all UPR campuses, the Garden faces staffing shortages affecting maintenance, an issue community leaders raised Monday when they met to demand concrete action. The fires burned more than 40 cuerdas of land, occurring August 21-22 and again September 4; residents reported a sleepless night with respiratory problems from smoke during the first incident. On Friday, Garden administration met with nearby residents to discuss recovery, prevention, and security measures, agreeing to keep communication channels open, continue an ecological recovery plan, promote a volunteer program, and involve interested residents as emergency communication liaisons.
While some residents and Fire Bureau Commissioner Josué Iván Piñeiro Torres believe the fires were intentional, no evidence currently identifies how or who may be responsible.