Only in the first five months of the year, the Ranger Corps reported 613 forest fires throughout the island, which affected more than 13,980 hectares of forests and 489.50 of swamp grasslands, according to statistics published this Saturday by the Cuban News Agency (ACN). The number of registered claims is 2.1 times higher than the total registered at the end of 2022, when 284 were extinguished.
The Ranger Corps explained that most of the fires took place in Pinar del Río with 141 incidents, Holguín with 79, Artemisa with 45, and Matanzas, where 40 were registered, as well as the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud where 69 occurred. .
The entity assured that 11 fires were cataloged of great proportions in the provinces of Pinar del Río, Ciego de Ávila, Las Tunas, Holguín and Guantánamo. Six were considered very large, including the fire registered in Pinares de Mayarí, in eastern Cuba, which lasted 28 days and destroyed 5,845 hectares of natural forests and plantations in the La Mensura-Pilotos National Park.
Between the large and very large fires, 9,340 hectares of forest were destroyed, 73.15% of the total affected areas
Between the large and very large fires, 9,340 hectares of forest were destroyed, 73.15% of the total affected areas. January, February and March were the months with the greatest activity, which coincides with the dry season, high temperatures and strong winds.
96% of the origin of these disasters is attributed to “negligence” due to unauthorized burning, fires caused by fishermen and poachers, circulation of vehicles with mechanical damage, smokers and irresponsible passers-by.
The Ranger Corps assures that 80% of the fires could be extinguished before they reached five hectares thanks to a “greater effectiveness” of the National Protection System. However, the entity took the opportunity to blame the US economic embargo because “it prevented the acquisition of resources and equipment necessary to deal with fires of this type and forced the postponement of planned activities.”
The institution acknowledges that the “responses were limited due to the lack of resources,” but ensures that the effectiveness in controlling the fires was due to the support of agroforestry companies and the Revolutionary Armed Forces, which deployed material and human resources to put out the accidents.
According to ACN, the authorities imposed 3,250 infractions for a value of 425,800 pesos, protected by the rights of the forest and land law. The Government calculates that the economic losses due to the fires in the first five months of the year amount to 309 million in national currency, mainly concentrated in the provinces of Pinar del Río and Holguín.
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