Firefighters are continuing to battle a wildfire that has consumed more than 1,600 hectares of forest in the Los Alerces National Park, Chubut province.
More than 200 firefighters are tackling the blaze, which has reportedly been brought under control after five days.
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The fire in the Los Alerces National Park (Photo via PNLA press)
However, complicating matters further, another fire broke out on Sunday in a forest near the town of Trevelin. The town’s firefighter chief Eduardo Pérez told local radio yesterday that “the fire is out of control”, with latest estimates suggesting that 100 hectares have already been burned.
‘Tireless Work’
Alerce trees are among the oldest native species in the region, with some in the 250,000km2 national park measured to be over 50m tall and more than 2,500 years old.
Environment Minister Sergio Bergman, who travelled to the region on Sunday, said that these historic trees had not been caught up in the fire, which was elsewhere in the part, and praised the work of local firefighters.
“The firefighters, with aerial support, have been working tirelessly for five days. The work they do is admirable and that is why I’m here, to offer the support of the national government and receive first-hand information to help better contain [the fire],” said Bergman.
Bergman and Chubut Governor Mario Das Neves also praised the prevention planning of both the national and provincial governments, which they said enabled them to respond quickly to the fire and prevent an even worse outcome.
Das Neves highlighted the importance of an emergency decree issued in December which, among other things, directed more funds and equipment to control and prevent forest fires during the summer.
Intentional Fire
The fire, which began on Thursday, is thought to have been started deliberately as it started in an area that is largely inaccessible to the public.
Los Alerces National Park manager Daniel Crosta told local press that he had no doubt that “the fire was intentional, similar to one last year and other previous fires in the region, but we don’t know who it was or what their motives were.”
Bergman also told Radio La Red that there were “indications” that it had been started deliberately.
There are concerns that forest fires in the region are started intentionally as a means of clearing protected land to eventually be used for real estate or agricultural development.
In 2015, as Patagonia’s worst ever wildfire consumed around 35,000 hectares of forest in Chubut, the government approved a law prohibiting the sale of land affected by fire for a period of 10 years.
However, Greenpeace Argentina today criticised the lack of resources channelled into programmes to protest national forests and reiterated its call for a new law to deal with “forest offences”.
“We are facing a true forest emergency, this has to stop,” said Hernán Giardini, coordinator for forest campaigns at Greenpeace Argentina. “Destroying woods is a crime and should have legal punishments.”
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