FIREFIGHTERS are battling a massive bush fire that has been burning for two days in western New Providence.

Fire Chief Superintendent Walter Evans said, at this time, the fire poses no immediate threat to nearby homes in the Lyford Cay area and surrounding communities.

However, Mr. Evans said because the fire is a few hundred feet into the bushes, there is no path for firefighters to get to the blaze.

He is asking residents in the area to be patient, as his team attempts to "make a road" in order to extinguish the blaze.

"The fire is still burning and it has gotten pretty big but it is still not threat to homes," Supt Evans said. "Right now the only threat is the smoke but at this time we have no access to the fire. It's burning several hundred feet into the bushes. We have gotten the assistance of some heavy duty machines so we can get road access and then we will be able to tackle the blaze from there."

Residents of Lyford Cay and nearby communities reported on Wednesday evening that the air was thick with drifting smoke from the fire, which appeared to be emanating from somewhere behind the Old Fort Bay shopping centre.

Sancheska Dorsett, Tribune Staff Reporter

Governor General Her Excellency Dame Marguerite Pindling plants a 'Kent Mango' tree in the gardens of Government House on Wednesday, July 13, 2016.

(BIS Photo/Letisha Henderson)

Source: Bahamas Information Services

SuperClubs Breezes staff visited with Centreville Primary in commemoration of Earth Day. The team members cleaned, prepped, raked, planted and watered their way to a beautiful reading garden for the children. The Breezes team is pictured with staff and students of the school. (Photo: NG)

Team members from SuperClubs Breezes Bahamas Resort & Spa spent Earth Day at their adopted school, Centreville Primary.

"Trees for the Earth" was the theme of the day. The team members cleaned, prepped, raked, planted and watered their way to a beautiful reading garden for the children. Ms. Earth Daronique Young was also available to lend a helping hand. In addition to the reading garden, Breezes staff members erected a picket fence to help beautify the school's grounds. Principal of Centreville Primary Jacqueline Sands was on hand to express her appreciation for the work done.

Breezes Resort is a Green Globe Certified property. This was one of the many initiatives it has put in place to keep the green message throughout the local community. Breezes adopted Centreville Primary early this year and efforts will remain in place to assist not only with Green Globe efforts, but with educational goals as well.

Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development the Hon. Philip "Brave" Davis speaks at the opening ceremony for The Bahamas National Agricultural Marine Resources and Agri-Business Expo 2016, on March 10, 2016, at the Gladstone Road Agricultural Centre. (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)

At the Opening Ceremony of The Bahamas Agriculture, Marine Resources and Agri-Business Exposition 2016, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works & Urban Development the Hon. Philip Davis said he was heartened to see the issue of food security being placed front and centre as food security is “a critically important pillar upon which our long-term viability as a developing nation rests.”

Speaking Thursday at the Gladstone Road Agricultural Centre to the theme, Progress through Food Security: Our Food, Our Future, Our Bahamas, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “Successive governments have laid the framework to progressing living standards over the years by improving the standard for household incomes, improving access to health professionals and health facilities, diversifying employment opportunities for our citizens, and improving access to education.

“Our collective failing, however, has been the long-term neglect in respect of planning for and adequately financing a plan to grow the idea of food security.”

Encouraged by the display, Mr. Davis insisted: “the linking of tourism to farming and fisheries is critical to our development.”

He noted, “this Government is committed to progressing our Bahamas to food security for our future. That is why we have created Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and closed seasons for the harvesting of crawfish, grouper and stone crab to ensure adequate stocks of species for sustainability. For the same reason, we are being urged to consider conch preservation.

“The quest for food security drives this government to refurbish the system of Packing Houses throughout our Bahamas. For the Packing House system to be viable, we need a healthy food supply.

“Hence, the impetus for the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Resources Scientific Institute (BAMSI), which we have established at North Andros. BAMSI is both a training institute and an incubator for farmers throughout our Bahamas. It is more than a place. It is a brand. It is an ideal. This Government, notwithstanding the chatter of the critics, has invested more in planning and financing for agriculture than any other in the history of The Bahamas. That is not boasting. That is the simple truth.

“For you who participate in shoring up the framework for food security and for you who are in agri-business or are contemplating agri-business, I admonish you to continually renew your energies toward feeding our Bahamas. The survival and development of our nation depends on it.”

Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament with Bahamians recognized as outstanding farmers, during the opening ceremony for The Bahamas National Agricultural Marine Resources and Agri-Business Expo 2016, on March 10, 2016, at the Gladstone Road Agricultural Centre. (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)

Members of the C.V. Bethel Secondary School Choir perform during the opening ceremony for The Bahamas National Agricultural Marine Resources and Agri-Business Expo 2016. (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)

Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, senior government officials and stakeholders attend the opening ceremony. (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)

Gerald Cash Primary School students beating the drums and rake the saws. (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)

Willard Patton Preschoolers are amazed at the livestock on display. (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)