The Fire Department of the Ministry of the Interior (Minint) of Cuba and other support forces maintain the extinction work in the Forest fire which since last Friday originated in the area known as La Loma de Fana, located northwest of the town of Montezuelo, in the municipality of Mantua, Pinewood of the river.
According to a report from the official journal Granmait is estimated that some 100 hectares of the forest area have been affected, with the consequent damage to the fauna that inhabits it.
They fight a forest fire in western Pinar del Río.
Forces from the Ranger Corps from various territories in Pinar del Río and forest firefighters have been fighting a forest fire since last Friday in the Montezuelo area, belonging to the municipality of Mantua #Cuba pic.twitter.com/qFIfloozeC— MININT_CUBA (@minint_cuba) April 17, 2023
Isbel Barrio Cueto, director of the Río Mantua Forestry Base Business Unit (UEB), calculates a loss close to one million pesos, if one takes into account that the flames have affected young plantations, which had already been damaged by the fire years ago.
In the early hours of Sunday it was reported that the forces fighting the incident had managed to successfully close the counterfire that had started the night before, which could have resulted in partial control of the flames.
However, Yosbany Ramos, Chief of the Mantua Ranger Corps (CGB), told the outlet that the strong winds, the drought that prevails in the region, enormous amounts of combustible material and a complex topography, caused the fire to cross the trail. with which it was tried at first to contain, and it extended towards the northwest.
However, the specialists indicated that this advance did not represent a danger to the tobacco fields and homes near the banks of the Mantua River.
The local authorities have remained in place to guarantee the necessary logistics and indicated that once the new fire is extinguished, the felling of the trees that can be used would begin.
This is the 106th accident reported in the second most reforested province in Cuba so far this year, according to the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
Forces of the Cuban Ranger Corps fight a medium-sized forest fire that started on Friday the 14th in a rural area known as Loma de Fara y Gabito, in the Mantua municipality, in Pinar del Río@ElbaRosaPM@SANTANACITMA@adianez_taboada@ArmandoRguezB@citmacuba pic.twitter.com/1nhOYtHUzV
— Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (@citmacuba) April 17, 2023
March and April are the months with the greatest possibilities for forest firessince they coincide with the driest period, and in them occur between 70 and 75% of the fires registered annually on the island, according to recently reported by Manuel Lamas, head of the Cuban Ranger Corps.
According to the expert, 90% of the causes point to human action. Preliminary data from the Ranger Corps, handled Through official island media, they assert that between January 1 and March 1, 2023, 3,228 hectares were affected by forest fires.
