A Forest fire Even without quelling, it has caused severe damage until this Friday in some 800 hectares of the mountainous area of El Prado, in the Holguin municipality of Mayarí, according to official media reports on the island.
The incident is located in an area of rugged topography, which makes it very difficult for the Ranger Corps (CGB) forces to access the Ministry of the Interior (Minint) in order to contain the ravages, according to a note published by the official newspaper Granma.
Major Elio Ramírez Torres, Civil Defense specialist in the territory’s Military Sector, told the press that brigades equipped with appropriate implements for extinction have been progressively introduced into the area, and in accordance with what the situation demands. including two support bulldozers.
It specifies the information that the abundance of cubensis pinethe predominant forest species in those spaces, and the material accumulated after the impact of meteorological events such as hurricanes, provide enough fuel to keep the flames alive.
“The specialists of the Ranger Corps constantly evaluate the direction of the fire and various variants have been proposed to extinguish it, including the use of Air Force helicopters,” the expert asserted.
He also clarified that up to now two exploration operations had been carried out with those aircraft in order to determine the possibility of dropping water from above, but the strong gusts of wind had prevented the operation.
The official considered that the negative impact of the flames on the ecosystem of the area is considerable, although the real magnitude will be known after the evaluation of environmental experts.
In 2022, Cuba reported 284 forest fires that affected more than 1,800 hectares of forests. 90% were provoked, according to CGB files.
Forest fires in Cuba damaged more than 1,800 hectares in 2022
The origin of a good part of these disasters is attributed to the unauthorized burning of herbs or sugar cane, the use of vehicles without spark arrestor mesh and also the activity of poachers.
Due to natural causes, only 2 or 3% of these fires were recorded, mainly derived from the impact of electrical discharges, the increase in temperatures and the climate crisis, among others.
However, the statistics indicate that the claims of this type that occurred during the indicated period represent the lowest figure in the last three years.
