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Sonora Ousts Civil Protection Chief After Hermosillo Waldo’s Fire as Closures Spread

Governor Alfonso Durazo said the move avoids a conflict of interest during the state’s investigation.

Overview

  • Authorities confirm 23 deaths and say survivors remain hospitalized, including a young cashier transferred to a burn center in Phoenix with humanitarian support.
  • The state prosecutor’s office is reviewing permits, electrical records and civil-protection files, with specialists probing an internal, privately owned transformer and a lapsed safety plan rejected in 2021.
  • Officials ordered sweeping enforcement actions: 68 Waldo’s stores in Sonora were shut, 13 closed in Tijuana, three in Sinaloa, and six suspended in Nogales, while inspections continue in Mexicali.
  • Municipal reports cite failures such as nonfunctional emergency exits, missing or inadequate extinguishers and signage, and unsafe electrical installations across multiple branches.
  • Civic groups called a march in Hermosillo this afternoon to demand accountability and redress as investigators and authorities pursue administrative and criminal lines of responsibility.