Wildfires in Patagonia: 3,000 tourists evacuated as flames consume Chubut forests |
At least 3,000 tourists had to be evacuated this week from several forest areas near the Andes mountains in Chubut province, in Patagonia, where fires have been raging since Monday.
According to the Argentine branch of Greenpeace, over 4,000 hectares of wild forest and homes have been affected since mid-December in the Patagonia area.
Puerto Patriada is the area currently most affected by the wildfires. Known by many as the “Patagonian Caribbean,” it’s a small tourist town and protected area on the shore of Lake Epuyén, in the municipality of El Hoyo. The fire has spread to several protected areas nearby, even affecting residential areas.
Ante los incendios en Chubut, la @AFE_Arg despliega recursos con brigadistas, medios aéreos y terrestres, bomberos voluntarios y Fuerzas Federales para contener los incendios y cuidar a la población.
El 95 % de los incendios son causados por acciones humanas, ya sea por… pic.twitter.com/2HqH3mj6Ma
The fire began there on Monday and expanded rapidly. As of Wednesday, at least 2,000 hectares had been consumed, according to the Chubut government.
Local authorities believe the fires were started deliberately. “Those miserable people who started the fire will end up in jail,” Chubut Governor Ignacio Torres told the press.
According to Chubut prosecutor Carlos Díaz Mayer, the fire in Puerto Patriada was started with “lighter fluid or gasoline, which definitively shows someone meant to start a fire.”
Torres said the province will pay a reward of AR$50 million (around US$33,000) to anyone who provides concrete information about who started the blaze.
Herald staffer Lucila Cristallo happened to be in Puerto Patriada at the exact moment the........