MADRID, Spain.- Two forest fires have been active in the Mantua region, Pinar del Río, in recent days.
“In that territory, 279 kilometers from Havana, the situation became complex when two accidents coincided, something that we consider unprecedented in the province, among those with the largest forest area in the country,” he told Latin Press the deputy chief of the Ranger Corps (CGB), Andy Valle.
First of the fires, started last Friday in the town of Montezuelo, was extinguished this Wednesday after causing the loss of 181 hectares.
While the second, which began this Monday, is controlled, but they have not yet managed to extinguish it, according to the official media. This second incident has devastated 1,472 hectares.
The winds, with a speed of approximately 35 and 40 kilometers per hour, helped its spread, as did the prevailing low relative humidity and the large volumes of brush accumulated in the area, Andy Valle specified.
He also pointed out that the flames put the combined forces of the body, volunteer firefighters, forestry workers, and water and sewerage workers in tension to remove the danger from a community located at kilometer 21 of the road itself.
So far this year, more than a hundred forest fires have occurred in Pinar del Río, the second most reforested province in Cuba.
The alert period for these accidents, due to the drought, among other factors, will be extended until next May 31.
According to estimated data from the Cuban Ranger Corps, 320 to 445 forest fires are expected for 2023, which could affect 4,300 to 6,000 hectares between January and May.
Between January and May 2022, 284 forest fires were registered on the island, with an estimated affectation of 1,876 hectares of forests and 1,308 of swamp grasslands.
