If you haven’t heard by now, a recent fire at the AJ Fernandez factory in Nicaragua caused devastation abound. The fire started in the packaging department, according to additional press and Rafael Nodal, the Vice President of Product Capability at Altadis USA/ Tabacalera USA.
The fact that no one was hurt is a miracle in itself. Especially for these types of fires that engulf inherently flammable products and materials. Unfortunately, millions of finished cigars were damaged, including many cigars that were ready to ship to retailers and customers. Worse yet, the Premium Cigar Association conference (PCA 2025) is set to take place from April 11 to 14. This fire is close enough to that event, and damaged so many finished cigars, that it’s likely it will affect the AJ Fernandez booth and many other brands. More information will be forthcoming.
While AJ has his own brands like New World, Enclave, San Lotano and a few others, he also blends and produces cigars for other brands in the industry. He makes other lines for Romeo y Julieta, Aging Room, Montecristo, Diesel, H. Upmann, and more. It is possible that this fire will cause a ripple effect across the industry, but we won’t know for sure until the smoke settles.
What is the true impact of a fire in the cigar industry?
Believe it or not, fires are fairly common in the industry. Many of the factories are old, aging, and in areas of the world that are already hot, humid, and prone to fire. It’s not just the factories, though. The auxiliary buildings, too. That includes warehouses, shipping facilities, and packaging locations — as we’ve seen with the Fernandez fire.
Back in September 2024, for example, there was a fire at the Aganorsa Leaf factories. Luckily, no major damage or delays were caused to their production line. In May 2023, the Fuente tobacco warehouse burned down, destroying over a million pounds of aged tobacco leaf. In the early 1900s, five Ybor cigar factories and hundreds of homes burned down in a tragic event.
That gives us a small idea of the impact. When there’s a fire in the cigar industry it destroys so much more than just the building. Depending on what’s stored within, in this case it was a packaging facility, manufacturers can lose thousands of pounds of aged or unique tobacco, additional supplies, and possibly even employees. Again, it is fortunate we saw no injuries in the recent fire. However, an estimated 1,500 people who worked in the factory, along with 70 children from the in-house daycare facility, were evacuated.
Because the cigar industry involves so much resting and aging, it’s possible to lose product that was set aside for not just the current market, but many years ahead. That not only causes a delay in production for the foreseeable future, but can also ruin the supplies and create setbacks for many, many years. If they lose enough of a particular tobacco, it’s even possible to see the end of a cigar line.
Economically, a fire like this sets the business back significantly. They’ll have to pay to repair or rebuild the related facilities. But also they’ll have to restart the tobacco crops, if that’s even possible, depending on what part of the season the fire occurred. Worse yet, it destroys future profits. That money is used to pay employees, research new products, acquire new supplies and sometimes even tobacco from other providers.
The inspiration and strength it takes to get back up and get the business moving again after something like this is remarkable. Our hearts are with the AJ Fernandez team and everyone affected. That said, if anyone in the industry has the will to repair and rebalance, it’s the AJ team. The brand is prolific, not just with what they produce, but also at delivering successful products. So much of what comes from the AJ Fernandez factory is successful. For good reason, these people don’t make a bad cigar.
How can we help?
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
The good news is there are some things we can do to support AJ Fernandez and his people. Go buy AJ cigars. If you need to restock, now’s the time to do it. Any royalties and money from incoming sales will help the business, regardless of what the funds are being used for. We don’t know yet how many cigars are affected. Nor how this event will influence the years ahead, so supporting when and where we can is a great idea.
AJ did release an update on social media, declaring that the brand will be moving forward with resilience, no surprise there. But it is still great to read and hear. This won’t be the last fire in the cigar industry, but with the right support from the community, we can help lessen the impact.
Update: Some of the other brands affected by the fire have released statements: Foundation Cigar Company.
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
Source: Tim Stief / Unsplash
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
