The number of people killed in the forest fires that have been ravaging thousands of hectares in Peru has risen to 20, the head of the National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci), Juan Carlos Urcariegui Reyes, reported on Saturday, September 21. More than 40 forest fires are still active in the country.
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“Today, at 6 in the morning, we have recorded 361 forest fires, of which 291 have been extinguished (…) 24 are under control and we have 46 active. To date, we have recorded 20 deaths, either from the fire or from the smoke, from burns or from the effect of inhaling the toxicity of the smoke,” he said. RPP.
Carlos Urcariegui Reyes He stated that The country has 46 active firesand the regions with the highest number are: Amazonas, Cajamarca and San Martin. There are also incidents reported in Ancash, Arequipa, Cusco, Lambayeque, Huánuco, Pasco, Piura, Tumbes and Ucayali.
“We have 8 (active fires) in Amazonas, 8 in Cajamarca, one in Cuzco; however, in Cuzco (today) two more have been activated. In Apurímac, we have one; in Huancavelica we are at zero; in Huánuco we have 4; in Ayacucho, zero. We have Lambayeque, Incahuasi, which has had good weather and, fortunately, has been controlled (…) San Martin has 6”held.
The head of Indeci estimated that some 3,500 hectares of natural areas and cultivated pastures were affected.
Minister of Environment
On the other hand, the Minister of the Environment, Juan Carlos Castro, said that he will go to Congress to report on the actions carried out by his sector in the face of forest fires. This, after the Plenary of Parliament approved the motion of interpellation against the minister for the fires that affect several regions of the country.
Juan Carlos Castro will have to answer 9 questions from the interrogatory document after the admission of the motion of interpellation against him, an initiative in the face of the inaction of the government of Dina Boluarte, because due to public pressure it was only after several days that the declared a state of emergency in Amazonas, San Martin and Ucayali, regions affected by severe forest fires.
The head of the Environment portfolio has been summoned for Wednesday, October 2 at 10 a.m..
