Mecca fire of 1997 Mecca fire of 1997 The Mecca fire of 1997 was a fire that occurred in the tent city near Mecca in Saudi Arabia 15 April 1997, killing between 217 and 300 people. The fire erupted in the overcrowded tent city, Mina, where an estimated two million Muslim pilgrims were gathered on for the first day of the Hajj, the ritualistic pilgrimage to Mecca. The fire erupted at 11:45 a.m. (), and was caused by exploding canisters of cooking gas, according to witnesses. The fire was fanned by winds of nearly causing the destruction of an estimated 70,000 tents. Officially, 1,290
Mecca, California people (46.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,599 people (53.6%) lived in rental housing units. 49% of all Mecca residents are employed in Agricultural work. The community's population fluctuates several times throughout the course of the year with up to an additional 5,000 seasonal farmworkers coming into Mecca to serve the Valley's winter and summer harvesting seasons. Mecca has an elementary school, but no public high school. 1.4% of residents hold a college degree, with 17.7% continuing education after high school, ranking Mecca the 17th least-educated city in the United States. The focal point of the