Forest fires that have been raging for nearly two weeks in Ecuador have destroyed nearly 9,000 hectares of crops and other vegetation in at least 19 provinces of the country, according to a report from the National Secretariat for Risk Management.
The small municipality of Quilanga, in the southern province of Loja, has been one of the places hardest hit by the fires. Agricultural burning, strong winds and lack of rain have exacerbated the problem.
“Unfortunately we have to say that approximately 8,000 hectares were consumed in the parishes of San Antonio de las Aradas, in Fundochamba and in the cantonal capital of Quilanga,” said Juan Carlos Santín, mayor of Quilanga.
However, the National Risk Management Secretariat reported later on Tuesday that “the forest fire in Quilanga is under control,” and that in the Loja canton some 4,856.04 hectares of vegetation cover had been consumed.
Million-dollar losses
As of Tuesday, 19 of the country’s 24 provinces had been affected by what is estimated to be the largest forest fire in recent years.
“There are about 20,000 dead animals. Businessmen who have invested in poultry plants say that about 8,000 poultry were suffocated by the smoke,” Santín said.
The National Secretariat for Risk Management said in its daily report on Tuesday that the number of fires had reached 460 and that 83 cantons and 227 parishes were affected.
The mayor estimates that the losses in Quilanga are in the millions. “We are talking about half a million dollars. Half a million dollars that we need to fix urgently all the pipeline that collapsed, burned,” he said in reference to the damages, mainly in agriculture, livestock and drinking water systems.
The governments of Peru and Colombia have provided assistance in extinguishing the fire, along with fire departments from other Ecuadorian cities, according to authorities.
“The national government, through the National Secretariat for Risk Management, is responding to the emergency in 24 forest fires, of which three are under control in 19 provinces of the country,” said Andrea Hermenejildo, undersecretary of the national Risk entity, in a speech to the media.
The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology has warned that high temperatures and ultraviolet radiation will continue throughout this week, which, combined with low humidity and strong winds, increases the possibility of new forest fires.
The fire started as a result of agricultural burning on a hill in the rural area of Quilanga, 670 kilometers south of the capital.
Those affected
The family of Carmen Salinas, a local farmer, is among those affected by the fire, which consumed her home, killed her animals and destroyed her crops, she told The Associated Press.
“We lost 10 hectares of coffee, two sheds with about 6,000 chickens,” said the 60-year-old woman, who also owes the bank $60,000. She hopes that the authorities will help the farmers in the area, whose livelihood is mainly coffee farming.
Salinas also called for control over agricultural burning, which farmers usually carry out to clear their land.
“It cannot be done in August, where the winds are too strong,” he said. “All the inhabitants are affected in the coffee crops and the economy of the town; I don’t know how we are going to cope.”
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