August 30, 2022, 7:25 AM
August 30, 2022, 7:25 AM
The forest fires do not let up and now they have begun to affect the forest reserves. Yesterday a fire was reported in the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, one of the most important protected areas in the country.
Fire emergencies have multiplied in recent weeks and community brigades have had to react to deal with the fire.
Yovenka Rosado, director of Natural Resources of the Government, reported that the fire at the Noel Kempff Mercado It is located on a plateau that is difficult to access, so the park rangers have been asked to go to the place to design the best strategy for attacking the fire.
On his side, Donald Áñez, park ranger responsible for the southern zone of this protected area, confirmed that the reported fire is on the Caparú plateau, in that sector of the park.
Alberto Terrazas, director of the Noel Kempff Mercado Park, regretted that every year the park is affected by fires, that sometimes occur in places that are difficult to access and end up extinguishing by themselves. “It is a very special area, it has its own conditions and it is very complicated to reach,” said Terrazas.
He added that they are having two crews (each made up of six park rangers) to enter the park and verify the fire.
According to yesterday’s report, Santa Cruz has 50% of the department at extreme risk of forest fires, with an affected area of 70,545 hectares so far this year and 2,776 sources of burning reported in this month alone.
According to the Forest Fire Early Warning System (Satif) there are several active forest fires in municipalities such as Concepción, Carmen Rivero Tórrez, Porongo, Santa Rosa de Sara, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Warnes, Gutiérrez and San Ignacio de Velasco. Precisely the most serious is the one inside the Noel Kempff Mercado park.
Meanwhile, only on Sunday nine accidents were registered to which the communal brigades have reacted immediately.
“The other emergencies are being attended to with specialized logistics, we have fire brigades from the Government. There are cisterns, tank trucks and rapid intervention teams, retardants, “said Rosado.
Among the reported events, three were of magnitude (in San Carlos, Pailón and Ascensión de Guarayos) and they needed the quick and timely reaction not only of firefighters, but also of the residents.
In Ascensión de Guarayos, for example, the ringing of bells was used so that people leave their homes and help fight the fire, that had started in a sawmill preventing it from spreading. People were afraid that the flames stoked by the strong gusts of wind would reach nearby homes. Finally, a tanker truck sent by the subgovernment, in addition to machinery, made it possible to control the fire.
In the municipality of San Carlos, the smoke that came out of a wooded area scared the residents, who left their houses and with the help of buckets and hoses, they fought the flames.
