The Andean Region is a paradisiacal region of Argentine Patagonia that attracts thousands of tourists every year for its landscapes of mountains, lakes and forests. But these days it is in the news again due to the flames that destroy protected native forests, grasslands and homes in the area. More than 4,000 hectares have already been devastated and the number will increase in the coming hours because several outbreaks remain out of control. The most complicated province is Chubut. Almost half of the affected hectares are located around the town of El Hoyo and the fire also causes havoc in the Alerces National Park. There, it threatens to reach even the oldest tree in the place, El Abuelo, about 2,600 years old. This Wednesday, the flames were five kilometers away and neighbors criticized the lack of resources for fire prevention and control.
“The outlook is bleak,” “Patagonia is burning,” residents of the area have been warning on social media since Monday, along with videos showing the progress of the fire.
The provincial governor, Ignacio Torres, reported this Wednesday at a press conference that around 300 people are working to combat the fire in Chubut, with the support of heavy machinery and six aerial means. Together with the national Minister of the Interior, Diego Santilli, he promised a tough line against those responsible for the fires. According to Torres, in the Puerto Patriada area, at least two of the outbreaks had an intentional origin. The Chubut governor promised a reward of 50 million pesos (about $33,000) to anyone who provides precise data that will allow those responsible to be identified and captured. Santilli warned that there will be zero tolerance against those who commit fires that put lives, infrastructure and local economies at risk.
From Epuyén, another of the towns in the Andean Region, activist and political scientist Flavia Broffoni qualifies the official deployment. According to their testimony, on Tuesday some local residents alone fought the descent of the flames from Pirque Hill to the southwest edge of the lake, moving with boats and throwing water towards the houses. “Normally, civil defense, national and provincial services and volunteer firefighters coordinate the actions, with the support of neighborhood groups that have some equipment. But yesterday it did not happen, there was no assistance from the State and the houses were totally unprotected,” he emphasizes, “We were in the most committed farm, giving a hand throughout the day and night. We are very tired.” The first firefighting teams began arriving in the area this Wednesday, according to Broffoni.
Since 2020, the Andean Region has recorded increasingly extensive and extreme fires, which expand very quickly and affect large areas. The drought that the region is going through due to the lack of rain and the afforestation with exotic pine, which is highly flammable, favors the spread of fire, according to environmentalists. The negligence of tourists and locals in handling the fire and the lack of resources for prevention and immediate response represent an explosive cocktail. “Knowing that the context is extremely fragile, there is no containment network proportional to the dimension of the threat. We must ask ourselves why the institutions think that it is not an important issue,” questions Broffoni.
In Congress, Patagonian legislators promote the declaration of a fire, environmental and socioeconomic Emergency for 180 days, with requests for extraordinary funds, tax benefits and soft credits.
The new fires have revived criticism for the cutting and under-execution of funds allocated to fire prevention and management policies since the beginning of Javier Milei’s mandate, two years ago. Faced with the promises of criminal punishment offered by the Government, environmentalists demand urgent measures to prevent the spread of fires that are increasingly frequent.
For more updates, visit our homepage: NewsTimesWire
