They were confirmed by the Secretary of Territorial Development and Environment, Jorge Lara. The brigade members have already arrived at Maitén.

Brigadiers from the Provincial Fire Management Plan and volunteer firefighters from Neuquén arrived in El Maitén to collaborate in fighting the fires that are registered in the mountain range of the Río Negro and Chubut provinces.

The Secretary of Territorial Development and Environment of Neuquén, Jorge Lara, specified that the brigade members “left the southern part of the provincial territory with vehicles and the respective equipment,” and that they placed themselves under the orders of the authorities of the National Plan for the Management of the Fire, which coordinates the actions.

For his part, the undersecretary of Civil Defense and Citizen Protection, Martín Giusti, pointed out that the Neuquén Federation of Volunteer Firefighters also sent two rapid units with brigade members to the area.

“The fire spread through different areas near El Bolsón and El Hoyo, mainly,” Giusti explained, adding that, “fortunately, the intermittent rains that fell during the early morning brought some relief.” Through a Facebook post, Civil Defense reported: “Neuquén collaborates in fighting fires in the mountain range. Volunteer firefighters from the province are already working in the affected areas of Río Negro and Chubut. The Neuquén Federation of Volunteer Firefighters sent two rapid units with eight brigade members to collaborate in the fighting the fires that are registered in the cordilleran zone of the provinces of Río Negro and Chubut “.

They are looking for 12 missing

The activation of the fires in areas of Lago Puelo, on the outskirts of Cholila and in the rural area of ​​El Maitén, near El Bolsón, left a devastating balance. According to the first information and surveys by the authorities, there would be about 200 houses destroyed by the flames and they are looking for 12 missing persons .

These are family groups, so specialists do not rule out that they have self-evacuated without giving notice.

Néstor Gómez Ocampo, second chief of the Chubut Police, told La Jornada newspaper: “We have disappeared people, we are going to look for them. In principle there are 12 and there are sectors with burned houses that have not been accessible.”

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