Ecuador: eight provinces impacted by forest fires in last week

Azuay and Loja have more hectares devastated. 90% of burned areas have been pasture.

lahora.com.ec reported eight provinces of the country have been affected by the forest fires that have been registered since the previous week. According to the authorities, Azuay and Loja, in southern Ecuador, have more areas devastated due to the incidents that, above all, have burned 90% of pastures, the General Secretariat of Risks (SGR) reported.

Carchi, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Chimborazo, Cañar, Azuay, El Oro and Loja have been the provinces that have endured the burning of pastures, grasslands and even forests. However, in Pichincha there have been some reports.

According to the SGR, forest fires greater than 5 hectares during 2016 have resulted in the loss of 15,270 hectares of vegetation cover in 621 recorded events. Of these, the provinces that report the greatest number of events are Loja, with 111; Azuay (100) and Manabí (64), the latter having the largest increase in flagella in recent months.

El Oro presents 56 events and Imbabura 55. The province that registers the greatest affectation to date is Loja with 4,759 hectares burned, followed by Azuay with 1,934.76, Imbabura with 1,430.46 and Chimborazo with 1,225.

The climate of this last week has caused several forest fires in some cantons of Azuay and Cañar. According to the latest report of the SGR, in November there have been 1,789 hectares of affected vegetation in Azuay while in Cañar have been 167 so far this month.

In the areas of Susudel in Oña, Sigsig, Quingeo in Cuenca, La Unión in Santa Isabel, Girón and El Carmen de Pujilí in Ponce Enríquez in Azuay, the fires are controlled, while in the sector of Ducur in Suscal, Cañar , The forest fire was still active.

Fires affect 90% of pastures Forest fires, according to estimates by the authorities, have affected 90% of pastures, while 5% have done so to the secondary forest and the rest to the protector.

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The flagella began in this province on 18 November and only from 18 to 20 have resulted in a total of 10 events, which although they have not caused fatalities, have left, according to Fabrizio Riofrío Toscano, zonal coordinator of the Secretariat National Risk Management, about 250 hectares destroyed.

For the case of the city of Loja, the previous Tuesday required the action of two helicopters that stifled the flames from the air, while specialized people executed the ground work.

“We are working under the requirements of the fire brigades that ask for the right number, because you can not get too many people or very few people,” says Riofrio, indicating that the staff has been provided with machetes, hoes, firefighters, masks and protectors Ocular, feeding and hydration.

In Cotopaxi, according to data provided by the Fire Departments of Pujilí, Saquisilí, Latacunga and Salcedo, some 100 hectares between forests, grasslands and weeds have been burned. The damage has been to vegetation and animals, but no people are injured or affected by fire. In Tungurahua, since the previous week, there have been 28 forest fires. Only 17 hectares were affected in Ambato. This Monday there were 7 flagella in several sectors of this province, such as Tisaleo, Quero, Pelileo, Patate, Baños and Píllaro.

In Carchi, forest fires have hit the Montúfar canton, although this last week have also been recorded in the rural areas of Chután Bajo, Cucher, San Cristóbal and the Apaquí River. The Fire Departments of Bolivar and Montufar have joined efforts to quell the flames and there is concern that the flames have reached places close to the ecological reserve El Angel. The fauna and flora of the affected sectors have felt the damage, explained Santiago Ibujés, of the Ministry of the Environment in Carchi. Read Article