Rangers and other specialized forces combat a Forest fire of medium proportions in the municipality of Maisí, the easternmost of Cuba.
Since last March 25, the incident has affected the elevation known as La Mesa, in the Popular Council of La Tinta, in that territory of the province of Guantanamo.
Rafael Wilson Castellanos, deputy chief of the Ranger Corps in said province, explained to the local newspaper overcome that 135 hectares of rainforests have already been burned, with species such as yuraguana palm, granadillo, guárano, cashew, almácigo, cuyá and others of interest.
The fire has spread “through part of the plateau and the slopes of the elevation, in an inhospitable and difficult-to-access area” and for the moment it does not represent a danger to human populations, points out the outlet, which ensures that they have been achieved ” advances in the control” of the flames.
“About 80 men, using mechanical means, riding animals and tools for the activity, have built around 500 meters of control lines to stop the spread of fire and carry water from a relatively nearby well, generally in a rustic way. ”, the publication details.
Wilson Castellanos specified that “the difficult topography that limits the access of forces and means, very high temperatures during the day and the continuous variability in the direction of the wind, which favors a slow but constant spread of the flames.”
In addition, he explained that “the rocky soil, of the skeletal type that predominates on the north and south coast of the municipality, also benefits combustion, since the rock tends to heat up and maintain that temperature, which increases the stress of the vegetation, already significant , and complicates the work of extinction”.
Areas damaged by fire in Mayarí will take decades to recover
According to the specialist, in the affected area “conditions conducive to the occurrence of fires converged, such as the large accumulation of combustible material, the intense heat and a tendency to decrease the rainfall regime, at least during the last three years.” ”.
March and April are the months with the greatest risk of fires, as they coincide with the driest period, and between 70 and 75% of the fires registered annually on the island occur during them, according to recently reported by Manuel Lamas, head of the Cuban Ranger Corps.
According to Lamas, 90% of the causes of forest fires reported in the country have been determined by human action.
According to preliminary data from the Ranger Corps, quoted by Cuban News Agency (ACN), between January 1 and March 1, 2023, 3,228 hectares (ha) were affected by forest fires. To this should be added the severe effects caused last month by the flames in areas such as Mayari pine forests and Pinewood of the river.
