September 14, 2024, 4:00 AM
September 14, 2024, 4:00 AM
Forest fires have not only destroyed more than 4 million hectares in the country, but they are also destroying wildlife. In the face of out-of-control fires, The animals flee to roads and urban areas, where they fall prey to poachers, Others suffer from thirst or die searching for water in cracked and dry swamps.
Firefighters who not only fight the fire, also face the painful task of rescuing injured animals. However, the suffering is doubled when they find them charred, some petrified in agonizing positions, with their legs extended forward, as if they had tried to escape until the last second before being overtaken by the flamess.
In the San Matías Integrated Natural Management Area (ANMI), the situation is critical. DThe fire complexes continue to burn out of control, in Santo Corazón and Rincón del Tigre“The ANMI San Matías is still burning. The fire is huge,” warns park ranger Ricardo Barbery with concern, while they await the arrival of air support to contain the disaster.
In the Candelaria area, the outlook is bleak. Charred trees and scorched earth dominate the landscape as park rangers work They have worked tirelessly to rescue the animals that have survived. But now, these creatures are suffering from a shortage of water because their sources are dry. With the support of Ríos de Pie, they plan to deploy tankers this weekend to strategic locations to supply water to the wild animals, because “some are already dying of thirst,” says Barbery.
“We are going to visit the areas of Candelaria and San Fernando, where there is no“There is water, not even drinking water for the people,” explains Barbery.Their mission is vital: to go between 40 and 60 kilometers into the ANMI, to the salt flats and other areas where animals go out to look for water.
Barbery describes the situation as a true environmental catastrophe, since when they walk through the area they find charred turtles, lizards and other animals amidst charred branches.
Park rangers are watching to make sure that “no one comes in to hunt” and asks people to have compassion for animals, because there are people who are taking advantage of this situation to hunt or capture them.
“They are not community members or local people, they are people who are moving around in vans,” Barbery complained, asking the police to carry out a check on the roads near San Matías, because videos have been circulating of hunters killing lizards in the area. “Not even the communities do that.”
Park rangers also strive to protect the habitat of the blue macaws, unique in the area. In San Fernando they fought daysIt is a night against the fire to protect the San Fernando motacusal, of about 500 hectares, where these birds nest.
Firefighters also continue their tireless work to put out the flames. From early in the morning, teams of volunteers, together with brigades from different institutions, enter the heart of the fire, armed only with their courage, rudimentary tools and their tireless desire to protect what remains of our green lungs.It’s exhausting work, but we can’t let the fire get the better of us,” says Gustavo Rojas, who is part of a group of firefighters in Concepción.
Firefighters not only suffer physical exhaustion, but also emotional exhaustion. Watching flames devour acres of forest, leaving ashes and destruction, is a difficult burden to bear.The community calls them heroes, but they prefer not to bear that title.“We just do what we have to do,” he says humbly, as they prepare to return to the battlefield.
Long working days and stifling heat are not the only things that weigh them down, they also suffer from the devastation. But there is no time to stop.One thinks about the families, the communities that we are protecting and that encourages us to walk four, five or six hours to reach the fire lines,” where they often have to make gaps to prevent the fire from advancing.
They value the support of the community members who help, often with only a machete in hand as their only tool.
