In five days, more than 180 hectares of tropical dry forest have been consumed by a fire in Huila

There dry season, during the last days of January and the first two weeks of February, represented a relief for the populations affected by the winter wave. However, from now on it starts to take its toll in the hottest regions from the country.

This is the case of the municipalities of Palermo, Nátaga, Paicol, La Plata and Neiva, in the department of wheelswhere the alert continues for a Forest fire which was initiated in the village of San Francisco on Wednesday, February 8.

And it is that, despite the refusal of the authorities to accept the open burning and the implementation of Resolution 0193 of 2023, with which this practice is prohibited, precisely because of the topographic conditions of the area, which make it difficult to fight fires, due to the abundant vegetation and the strong winds that spread the flames in Palermo, in this case the fire was caused by community members who sought to prepare the ground:

“This fire, in which firefighters from different municipalities were mobilized, was caused by people in the area, people who normally scrub and burn to prepare a ground that, due to high temperatures and strong winds, makes it s ‘spread out and get out of control,’ he warned in an interview for Radio Blue the departmental delegate of the firefighters of Huila, captain Édison Fernández.

The authorities and the local community tried protect neighboring buildings and the fauna and flora typical of this ecosystem; however, the fire has already spread to villages known as Paraguay and Los Guásimos.

“We have an approximate allocation of 180 hectares, mostly of tropical dry forest. At the moment we have the fire 100% active, the fire is followed by about 30 units on land with the community trying to safeguard the properties adjacent to the fire and above all to preserve the life of the animals and the flora itself of the sector “.

Firefighters from neighboring municipalities have joined forces and, to this day, are fighting the powerful fire with an intervention unit and gear. However, their efforts did not bear fruit, since in some cases even their the entrance to the territory It is more dangerous than the flames themselves:

“The topography of the terrain does not facilitate ground or air travel much. We have given specific instructions to ground personnel to refrain from making direct attacks on any of the heads of the fire, as it is located on a rock that it has a slope of more than 1,300 meters, which can lead to situations that compromise the physical integrity of our units, ”said Captain Fernández.

Only a few days after the start of the dry season in the country, only in this department, were reported 41 fires this compromise close to 350 hectares of forest in at least 20 municipalities.

“At this time (Sunday February 12) the fire is still active, approximately 350 hectares of dry tropical forest, pasture, shrubs and stubble have been consumed. For the extinguishing works of the event we had a lot difficulties, because of the question of access to the land, it is a very complex ground, there are areas of rocks”, announced the departmental delegate.

While, 28 municipalities they remain on alert due to the likelihood of fire, with 18 of them on red alert, 7 on orange alert and another 3 on yellow alert.

“We hope the weather conditions improve as the winds made control difficult and the calls were fueled by the strong winds, in addition to the high temperatures and the large amount of plant material found in the line of fire,” he concluded. Fernández in an interview for the station.