LIMA (Askume) – Peruvian authorities on Thursday launched an urgent plan to extinguish out-of-control fires across the country that have destroyed crops, damaged archaeological treasures and plunged many regions into a state of disaster.
Firefighters said it was becoming difficult to extinguish the fire.
“We’re exhausted,” said one volunteer firefighter in the forests of the northern Amazon region, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We put out the fire, and the fire flared up again. We put out the fire, and the fire flared up again.”
Firefighters in the area brought the blaze under control on Thursday.
“They’re out of control,” said Arturo Morales, another volunteer firefighter. “We need help.”
On Wednesday, President Dina Boluet declared a 60-day state of emergency in the regions of San Martin, Amazonas and Ucayali, allocating additional resources to stop the spread of the fires.
“We are putting out everything we have, which is why the fires are spreading out of control,” Boluet said in a speech calling on farmers to stop burning grasslands.
Forest fires frequently occur in Peru between August and November, either caused by farmers or people trying to occupy land illegally, the Peruvian government said.
About 240 fires have broken out in 22 of the country’s 25 regions this quarter, but more than 80% of them were brought under control as of Wednesday.
However, dry conditions, strong winds, and remote and difficult to access locations may cause some pits to ignite again.
According to the Culture Ministry, the fire has spread to seven archaeological sites and is threatening the indigenous Shipibo-Conibo communities of the Amazon region.
In total, about 2,300 hectares (5,680 acres) of agricultural land had been burnt and 140 people injured, official data as of Wednesday showed.
South America is currently being ravaged by fires , with last year’s record number of fires breaking across everything from Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, to the world’s largest wetland, to Bolivia’s dry forests.
