2023-10-01 00:10:16
The Ministry of the Environment, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) and the fire departments of Cómbita and Villa de Leiva are currently attending to the emergency that occurred since yesterday in the Guantia – La Russia moor, in Boyacá.
The Minister of the Environment, Susana Muhamad, asked the Public Force to activate air support and monitor the fire through overflights. The Armed Forces answered the call.
At this time, more than one hundred men from various operational forces arrived at the scene to help extinguish the flames. The Director of Anti-Narcotics of the Police, General Nicolás Zapata, reported that he arranged five aircraft to support the work of firefighters, Civil Defense and other entities involved.
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According to the Police, the balance so far is 800 hectares of vegetation affected. Likewise, they have used more than 4,000 liters of water to stop the conflagration.
The UNGRD reports that in the municipality of Arcabuco a line of fire persists, faced by six aircraft for transporting personnel and two more for unloading water, as well as several units of the Army, Police, firefighters and the community.
“We are working and supporting the National Risk Management System to strengthen actions quickly and as a priority to control this fire. We deeply regret the impact on almost 70 hectares of frailejones in this strategic ecosystem for the region,” said Muhamad.
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President Gustavo Petro, for his part, indicated that the fleet of helicopters donated by the United States, called ‘Guacamayas’, must be adapted “immediately” to address environmental emergencies.
These Black Hawk aircraft have been delivered to Colombia in two days, one occurred last year, when the president named them ‘Macaws’, and another occurred last Wednesday, September 27. According to US and Colombian authorities, its objective is to continue the fight against drug trafficking, deforestation and its environmental impacts.
“Forest fires will begin more strongly due to the beginning of the drought. The government is preparing an air force to contain them,” President Petro indicated this Friday in his X account.
The Ministry of Environment reported that, in addition to the fire in Boyacá, there are five more forest fires that are active in the country, in Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Huila, Tolima and Magdalena.
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