During the most recent forest fire, the flames consumed more than 200 hectares of plantations. Thanks to the work of military personnel, firefighters, Civil Defense and society, the loss of human lives was prevented.
The fires that took place yesterday, lasted for four hours due to the heavy winds and high weather temperatures that, for this same time year after year, hit the Colombian East during the dry season. The timely response of the institutions as a whole led to control the conflagration and prevent the flames to make greater damages to the fauna and flora of an area near the urban center of the municipality of Puerto Carreño, in the department of Vichada.
In this regard, Mr. Óscar Ramón Díaz Franco, owner of one of the farms hit by flames, said that: “...the flames advanced with great speed and in the face of the emergency I immediately contacted the Official Fire Department of Puerto Carreño, they arrived accompanied by the National Navy personnel and with several trucks with water, equipment, shovels and other things. With the support of them and the neighbors we managed to mitigate the fire. However, four farms loss plantations, nevertheless without the help of the Navy, Army, Firefighters and Civil Defense the losses would have been bigger.”
About forest fires it is important to mention that they are one of the most frequent natural disasters in some regions of the world such as the Mediterranean countries, Siberia and Australia, among others. In Colombia, the areas that suffer the most of the consequences of this phenomenon are the departments of Guainía, Meta, and Vichada, among others.
Source: press-Colombian Navy
