Iberá, one of the largest wetlands in the world, suffers the ravages of fire, which threatens to destroy the little that was left unburned last year.
In the last two months,
the fire destroyed more than 5,000 hectares
of that reserve, which is in the heart of the province of Corrientes, but other sources
raise the figure to 28,000 hectares
.
The Carambola and San Nicolás portals are the most affected by the
fires that are advancing uncontrollably
on the dams and estuaries, where the brigade members see their intervention very limited due to the impossibility of advancing with hydrant vehicles.
There are three main outbreaks and they are in the areas of Ituzaingó, San Miguel and Concepción del Yaguareté Corá, they pointed out from the Rewilding Argentina Foundation.
In that place the fire started almost two months ago.
Due to the characteristics of the terrain, park rangers and brigade members work with firebreaks and supervise the advance of the flames to fight them when they leave for firm ground.
The satellite maps that show the heat sources in Corrientes have turned red again in recent weeks.
On Saturday there were 80 who appeared in the images, almost twice as many as were registered ten days earlier.
In two months, at least 5,000 hectares of the Esteros del Iberá burned.
To have a dimension of the destructive power of the fires in Iberá, we can say that
about 1,000 hectares are lost daily, which is equivalent to about 1,450 soccer fields.
Throughout Corrientes, meanwhile, in January and so far in February, more than 60,000 hectares have already burned.
The National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) constantly monitors the situation.
Agricultural engineer Ditmar Kurtz acknowledged last week that this year more than 90 percent of fires have occurred in wetland areas.
Until Saturday, 621 heat sources had been reported in Corrientes so far this month.
This figure is similar to that registered in the entire month of January, which marks a worsening of the situation due to the lack of rain.
The brigade members, biologists and locals are hoping for the arrival of a front of rains and storms for this Tuesday.
However, the rains must be intense and sustained so that the moisture reaches the ground and completely extinguishes the fire.
Earth ravaged by fire.
Last year the fires destroyed about 12% of the total area of Corrientes.
The uncontrolled advance on the parched pastures forced the National Government to send brigade members and air and land resources to collaborate in the fight against the fire.
Finally, in March, the rains arrived, turning off all the lights.
During the autumn there were rains and that facilitated the recovery of the vegetation, but the arrival of spring and summer made the drought feel strong again and with it the fires returned.
A fact that marks the serious situation that Corrientes is going through is the
retraction of watercourses
.
In normal season, 38.5% of the provincial surface is covered with water.
Currently it covers only 8.6% of the territory, which is equivalent to 766,630 hectares.
Animals in danger
Sofía Heinonen, from the Rewilding Argentina Foundation, maintained that the fire is two kilometers from the corrals where the jaguar
is reintroduced
into the estuaries;
and a biological station.
And she threatens to destroy again the barbed wire fences that were put up after last year's fires.
Due to the advance of the flames, in recent weeks they had to go out to recapture four anteaters that were monitored with collars.
These animals have already been returned to their habitat as soon as the danger was overcome.
“There is a lot of wind and that makes the fire advance more quickly.
The most serious situation is that of Carambola, which has been burning for two months”, explained Heinonen.
The Foundation is already working on assembling a 100,000-liter pool of water to supply the brigade members.
It is that the drought left many lagoons and streams in the area without water, which makes it difficult to combat the llamas.
Missions. Correspondent
MG
look too
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