The fire in
Los Alerces National Park
has already been going on for a week and consumed more than 2,800 hectares of native forest.
In a
complicated climate context
, it remains active on all fronts, while experts arrived to try to determine its origin and the Nation will join as a plaintiff.
The latest report, issued on Thursday night by the unified command of the Los Alerces National Park and the Provincial Fire Management Service of the Chubut Forest Secretariat, counted more than 2,800 hectares of forest affected.
"The work continued with water lines and manual tools in the critical points of the
eight sectors of the forest fire that affects
approximately 2,835 hectares. The fire remains active on all fronts, behaving with special intensity in the canyons, given the weather conditions" , detailed the official report.
This Thursday afternoon there was a marked increase in the prevailing winds from the West with
gusts of 40 kilometers per hour
, which generated extreme conditions in each area with active outbreaks and complicated the work of the brigade crews because
the direction and intensity changed. of the flames
.
There are about 350 people who are working, 254 directly on the ground specifically dedicated to fighting fire and crew logistics.
In addition to the wind,
the heat and lack of humidity
make tasks difficult.
Two hydrant planes, an observation plane are fighting the fire and in the last few hours an amphibious plane with the capacity to carry water in low flight over Lake Futalaufquen and three helicopters that operate with a helibalde were added.
The responsibility of fire
Both the governor of Chubut and the park's mayor assured that the start of the fire was intentional.
The provincial leader, Ignacio Torres, targeted Cruz Cárdenas, a former brigade member and member of the Paillako lof, who maintains an occupation in the area.
The Mapuche community rejected the accusation.
According to the Télam agency, the national government
will appear as a plaintiff
in the judicial investigation that is being carried out to determine those responsible for the fire.
“The governor said there were indications that the outbreak of the fire could have been intentional.
We are all committed to being able to put an end to the fire and then begin the necessary investigations.
If it ends up leading to an investigation that says this was intentional,
those responsible should be behind bars
,” said presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni in his conference on Thursday.
This Thursday, experts from the Accident Investigation Division of the Federal Superintendency of Firefighters of the Federal Police
also arrived in Los Alerces
, to carry out expert reports and guide the investigation together with the Esquel Federal Operational Unit Division of the Federal, the newspaper Río Negro detailed.
They added Ivar, a dog specialized in detecting fuel, to the expertise.
Residents of places such as Alto Río Percy publicly expressed
their concern about the advance of the flames
, which for now have not produced personal victims or affected rural establishments.
"It is one thing to see the smoke during the day and quite another at night, when the flames are seen in the darkness and
the creak of the falling trees is heard in the silence, producing a Dantesque landscape
that fills those with concern. residents," described Rubén Oliva, president of the Chubut Firefighters Association.
The authorized
tourist services
operate normally and it is recommended to drive with extreme caution on the section of provincial route 71 that crosses the national park, due to the high circulation of vehicles affected by the logistics of the operation, which have priority of passage throughout the path.
The mayor of Los Alerces, Danilo Hernández Otaño, explained that the national park "is open, the services function normally and you cannot light a fire in the stoves in the free areas," but clarified that "
the mountain trails are closed and of long distance or of high difficulty
, since the aid or assistance personnel are affected by fighting the fire".
ACE