After more than 8 days of operations, in a joint and coordinated work conducted by different institutions, it was possible to fully control the forest fire that occurred in The Peak Natural Park on the Island of Providencia.
The Colombian Air Force, through a UH-60 BlackHawk helicopter of the Air Combat Command No.5- CACOM-5 conducted 254 water drops with 613,000 liters of water with 125 gallons of retardant liquid with the Bambi Bucket system. This, with the support of a C-295 aircraft of the Military Transport Air Command- CATAM that accompanied and prolonged the operation of the helicopter during these days, with the mobile aeronautical fueling system Forward Area Refueling Equipment”-FARE.
In the same way, the work of firefighters on the ground was fundamental for the extinction of the fire, for this, CATAM in the same way sent a Boeing-737 aircraft for the transfer from Santa Marta to San Andrés, of 30 firefighters of the National Army, 19 Firefighters of the department of Magdalena and 17 of the National Police, who were then transported along with the logistical support of the Caribbean Air Group- GACAR in a C-295 aircraft to Providencia, to join the tasks that were already being conducted by fire personnel of Providencia and San Andrés, Coralina and the Biosphere Reserve Seaflower.
It is noteworthy that the Bambi Bucket system operated by the CACOM-5 was the strategic ally to fight the fire. The expertise of the UH-60 crews in open water and the training in water collection techniques and maneuvers over difficult-to-access terrain, made possible to reach the zones with fires.
In this way, the joint work led by the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management in coordination with the National Personnel Recovery Center with the support of the Military Forces, the National Police, SATENA, the Red Cross, Civil Defense, the Mayor's Office of Providencia and Santa Catalina, the Government of the Archipelago and the Raizal people made possible the protection of the fauna and flora of this part of the national territory.
Source: CATAM, CACOM-5 and GACAR Strategic Communications
