Passengers on a city bus in Monterrey, Nuevo León, narrowly escaped tragedy this week, fleeing the vehicle as the flames of a wildfire roared toward it.
This week’s incident — videos of which were published on social media, one from inside the bus and another from outside — occurred in Santa Catarina, a suburb of Monterrey, the capital of the northern state.
En su sección: “Cuenta la gente que el chofer gritó: ¡Atestígüenme!” 😮
Pasajeros tuvieron que descender del transporte público corriendo debido a que el chofer se detuvo cerca de un incendio en Nuevo León
Afortunadamente, nadie resultó lesionado, más allá del susto. 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/0habKeE1eG
— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) March 5, 2025
After the bus was overtaken by the fast-moving conflagration, the terrified passengers hurried off the bus, most racing to safety inside the gates of a nearby industrial park.
On one video, you hear rising expressions of alarm at the approaching blaze, urgent cries to stop the bus, frantic screams of “Get out! Get out!” and a frightened child crying, as the passengers hasten toward the exit and scramble away from the bus.
This scene took place in the greater Monterrey metropolitan area where nearly 250 wildfires have been reported this week. Monterrey, the state capital, is a major industrial hub located in a dry valley surrounded by mountains, forests and ecological parks. The Santa Catarina River, which bisects Monterrey, is dry most of the year.
Nuevo León Governor Samuel García said on Wednesday that firefighters had extinguished 236 fires, but there were three active blazes — in Monterrey, García and Santa Catarina municipalities — that were still a concern.
After initially attributing the fires to high winds and dust storms in combination with the lack of rain, García said Wednesday that the authorities had solid evidence against three suspected arsonists, according to El Financiero.
The governor said one of the suspects confessed to being paid 300 pesos to set a fire in the municipality of García, where the blazes have caused more than 300 million pesos (US $14.8 million) worth of damage.
In Santa Catarina, more than 30 fires were reported, including the one that almost trapped the bus passengers. That fire reportedly started in a vacant lot and, although emergency personnel arrived on the scene swiftly, high winds whipped the blaze out of control.
The bus was traveling south on State Highway 65, which traverses a valley to the west of Monterrey and is populated by residential areas and industrial parks. As the fast-moving fire blasted across the highway, the driver attempted a U-turn. However, a wall of flames surrounded the bus, forcing it to stop and prompting the panicked passengers to flee.
According to UnoTV, a young female passenger suffered burns on one leg, but no other injury was reported.
State authorities have since shut down Highway 65 and an environmental emergency alert remains in effect.
With reports from El Financiero and UnoTV
