Havana/More than 300 hectares of pine forest have burned in the last three days in Pinar del Río, in an area of difficult access. The fire “is currently considered the most complex in the country,” the Home Office of Cuba in a Post In their social networks.
The flames began on Friday night, authorities indicate, in the wooded area of the Vigía, in the Pinarño municipality of San Juan y Martínez, although there were five focuses in the vicinity, according to the provincial television. The tobacco plantations of the area, however, have not been affected.
“Containment work has been hindered by strong wind gusts (between 35 and 45 km/h), the difficulty terrain and a long drought that already exceeds 90 days without rains in the area,” says the publication, based on information from the body of rangers.
“Containment work has been hindered by strong wind gusts”
In addition to this instance, the comprehensive agroforestry company of Pinar del Río participates in the extinction, “with a total of 28 troops and the use of technical media such as buldóceres, trucks, a self -cistern, a truck and a motorcycle,” says the Ministry, which claims that the causes of the fire are investigated.
The authorities add that this is one of the 201 fires reported in the country since the beginning of the year, of which 12 are active (mostly in the Cuban west).
Just last month, another fire in the same municipality destroyed hundreds of hectares of pine During the several days he was active.
The most critical period for forest fires in Cuba covers from January to May, coinciding with the dry season.
In 2024, at the end of the Forest Fire Protection Campaign, the ranger body reported 326 accidents, which affected a total of almost 3,000 hectares of forests.
