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And though the flames have been quelled, the village is not out of the woods just yet. Courtney Menzies went south today and has this story.

Courtney Menzies:
"It may look like a wasteland now but just a month ago, these were flourishing farms filled with fruit and other produce. For the farmers here in San Pedro Columbia it's their only source of income. But the raging wildfires ignited by the intense heatwave have devoured the crops that the residents had planted. The village's leaders say it's the biggest blaze they've ever witnessed."

Basilicas Choco, Chairman, San Pedro Columbia
"It's sad for our farmers because many of our farmers just planted young crops, fruit trees and other things and it burnt away and looking at it, this is like a yearly thing but this is the first time I've seen a massive fire. I would say if these farmers start again, it would not be something overnight, next five, ten years, it would be a long period of time, and many of our farmers would probably give up but a lot of them would cry and say, all my handwork. Some of them, like I said, the cacao farms especially, some of them are working their cacao for 15 years and now it's gone."

Roman Rash, First Alcalde, San Pedro Columbia
"This is the biggest so far and it is threatening because as you can see in our village there's lots of thatch close so that is where, when it's getting closer then we try to do the best that we can because it's so sad for some of the people that are so far in the jungle with their crop trying to do their best but it's very difficult to assist them there."

And yesterday's firefighting efforts lasted until about midnight, with some farmers staying up long past that to keep watch over their farms.

But once the smoke cleared, the destruction was devastating.

Basilicas Choco, Chairman, San Pedro Columbia
"This is where, where we're standing, behind me, this is somewhere around where the fire started, that's the reason I told you guys we will take you where it stared and from there we will move on. What you're seeing here is just a portion of where the fire burned."

Hilberto Ku, Farmer, San Pedro Columbia
"I have a 30 acres block, it's all ashes, everything. And this is happening every year, yearly fire, but this is so huge and this is the first time we're seeing such a disaster here."

But while the flames that raged yesterday have been extinguished and the air quality improved, another fire sprung up just this afternoon in the village, and these villagers have to remain on high alert.

Basilicas Choco, Chairman, San Pedro Columbia
"We never say we completely out it because two days, three days after that, fire pops up somewhere, we have to be there, we have to alert our farmers, we have to alert our village members to come out and help us."

Courtney Menzies:
"Now you say fire is still burning in the reserve."

Basilicas Choco, Chairman, San Pedro Columbia
"Yes, we are not going into the reserve because we want to monitor the fires that are closer to us."

But despite the vigilance, with multiple fires on the outskirts of the village, it's hard for them to manage all at once.

Even the fire passes that they create aren't much help, since the wind causes the fire to jump from one area to the next.

Now farms of cacao, rice, corn, beans, avocados, and more have turned to little more than ash and soot. And the farmers relying on them to survive will have to start from scratch.

Courtney Menzies:
"Do you think it's possible for these farmers to rebuild and to replant theirs farms?"

Roman Rash, First Alcalde, San Pedro Columbia
"With the help of maybe agriculture, producing plants and other fruits trees, it can but it will take a while."

Hilberto Ku, Farmer, San Pedro Columbia
"Burning a farm, it's like destroying the family - where are the farmers, what are the farmers going to do? They have to start from square one and it will take years before they begin to harvest again so the farmers are really getting a lick this year."

Courtney Menzies:
"What do you do now? What is your next step for your farm?"

Hilberto Ku, Farmer, San Pedro Columbia
"We gotta go back and plant back, start back at square one, we have to just plant all the trees that we lost, all the corn, the beans, everything. Some farmers are, if you can see, it's all burnt. The avocado tree over there, the cacao tree, it's all dry, it's all gone, so now we have to start back, we have to plant back again."

And they're hoping that the government will step in and help them:

Roman Rash, First Alcalde, San Pedro Columbia
"What I can say for the next six months, majority of the farmers will suffer. I would really appreciate it if the government would do something quick."

Hilberto Ku, Farmer, San Pedro Columbia
"We're appealing to anybody who wants to help the farmers of San Pedro Columbia, the government of Belize, the Ministry of Agriculture should have the consideration and try to help the farmers because we need help, we need assistance and this is not the time to look at anyone's political affiliation, religious affiliation or whatever, this is the time of the need."

"So we're appealing to the authorities out there to please kindly assist the farmers. assist the people of San Pedro Columbia, we have over 2,000 people, this is a huge village, and this is a huge loss, thousands of acres of land has been burnt down."

And even as they make their appeals, these villagers know that the long dry and the fire season are not over yet.

And while the Columbia Forest Reserve continues to burn, squatters reportedly lit a fire in the Maya Mountain Forest Reserve today. That reserve has been plagued by illegal squatting and illegal logging. The Forestry Department has been informed of this latest fire.