Colombia in flames: more than 30 fires hit the country and threaten Bogota

Last Thursday, Colombia asked United Nations member countries for help put out around thirty forest fires which affected several regions and to the capital Bogotawhere the flames are approaching a residential area.

“We will ask for the support of the United Nations. There is a protocol in this regard, it will be activated today”, President Gustavo Petro announced to the media, who had already decreed the day before the “natural disaster”.

The measure allows “to transfer approved budget items for other purposes to mitigate the problem,” the president said.

Petro confirmed it The United States, Chile, Peru and Canada have already responded positively to Colombia’s appeals to contain the flames.

According to the National State Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD), 31 fires are active in five regions of the country this Thursday. Four of them burn in the capital, where the focus is on El Cable hill, at the eastern end of the city, It spread to a residential area.

“With the winds it came closer, but still It is more than 900 meters from homes. We have monitored it (…) If necessary, we will take evacuation measures”, said the mayor of Bogota, Carlos Fernando Galán, at the end of the day.

No rain in sight

“Difficult weeks are coming. Today we saw some clouds but There is still no possibility of precipitation“added the city mayor.

As night fell, smoke engulfed the city center of eight million inhabitants.

Colombia, considered by the United Nations to be one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, has faced in recent months a severe wave of fires in vital ecosystems in the middle of Extreme heat and drought resulting from El Niñowhich will last until April, according to climate authority Ideam.

“It would be a setup the warmest January according to the historical data we have“Ghisliane Echeverry, director of Ideam, which has been recording the country’s temperature for 30 years, said this in a press conference.

Since November 3, when this meteorological phenomenon aggravated by climate change began, 336 forest fires have been recorded in 174 Colombian municipalities. According to the UNGRD, at least 6,618 hectares of vegetation have been devastated.

“Right now there are 62 municipalities with water stress. That is, where the freshwater capacity is equal to or less than the population’s demand,” concluded Petro.

Problems with commercial flights

The smoke from the fires They have been burning for four days in different places of the mountain range that borders Bogotá affected the operation of the El Dorado international airport on Thursday morning.

A total of 138 flights were affected of these, 48 were canceled and 16 were diverted to other airports, the Civil Aeronautics reported, which then recorded the “normalization” of operations at Latin America’s largest air terminal in terms of cargo volume.

According to Galán, more than 300 firefighters, soldiers, police and volunteer rescuers are working this Thursday in Bogotá with tanker helicopters and thermal drones.

The mayor “invited the population around the fire area to wear masks”.

An AFP journalist observed dozens of people wearing masks near the affected mountain, from where a thick column of smoke comes out visible from various areas of the city.

“You can feel the smoke a lot. You feel like it’s getting in your throat,” said Blanca Galindo, a 69-year-old juice seller.

some schools They canceled in-person classes and went virtual, according to the local government. The same decision was made by Javeriana University, one of the main universities in the country and whose headquarters is close to the outbreaks.

Among other measures, the mayor’s office recommended avoid exercising outdoors, close windows and leave wet towels under the doors.

“I’m very worried. My God! It’s terrible. (…) When I got here, it was totally cloudy,” said Andrea Gómez, a 48-year-old self-employed worker.

Wild animals such as coatis, owls and other birds have been seen taking refuge in nearby urban areas.

Galán announced that he had also contacted the Spanish ambassador for further support.