In five days, green and protected areas were affected by the flames.
In five days, 87 forest fires were registered in the provinces of Pichincha, Carchi, Imbabura, Tungurahua, Loja, Azuay, Cañar, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Guayas and Zamora Chinchipe.
In Cayambe (north of Pichincha), the flames continued until yesterday in six places. The largest fire consumed the moors of the Cangahua parish.
500 people, including farmers, firefighters and officials from the Ministry of Environment and Water, were fighting the flames in the sectors of Gualimburo, Moras and Parcachaca. In this area neighboring the Cayambe-Coca National Park, the fire started on the morning of Tuesday, November 3. The main concern of the neighbors is that the fire affects the water sources.
According to Werner Barrera, administrator of the Cayambe-Coca Park, indicated that in the burned area are the catchments of the vital liquid that supply 14 communities of the Cayambe canton.
Through its Facebook page, the Fundación Cóndor Andino Ecuador expressed its concern about the situation of wildlife.
He noted that some areas of the Cayambe-Coca Park are the habitat of the Andean condor that is in danger, the spectacled bear and other wild animals.
During an interview, the mayor of Cayambe, Guillermo Churuchumbi, said that there is a presumption that the fires were started. This added to the sunny days make the flames spread.
According to Nelson Escobar, head of the local Fire Department, in recent days there have been between four and five forest fires a day.
Another area affected by the fires is the Cajas National Park, in Azuay. Since yesterday, visits have been suspended by order of the National Service for Risk and Emergency Management of Zone 6.
Loja, on the other hand, had 11 fires in seven cantons. The Chantaco, Malacatos and El Cisne parishes were the most affected; and the Urdaneta parish, in the Saraguro canton.
In Tungurahua, a part of the Llanganates National Park has burned since October 31. The authorities activated the Unified Command Post yesterday to coordinate the groups fighting the fire.
Francisco Yanchatipán, mayor of Píllaro, commented that the constant changes in the direction of the wind have prevented putting out the fire.
Another of the large fires in Tungurahua occurred on Saturday October 31 in the Agoyán sector, in Baños. After five hours of work, the firefighters put out the flames that threatened the facilities of the hydroelectric plant.
In Cotopaxi, a fire was reactivated on the night of Tuesday, November 3, in the parish of Mulaló, in Latacunga.
In turn, the Guaranda, Chimbo and San Miguel cantons, in the Bolívar province, are the ones that have registered the most fires.
Rubén Chérrez, head of the Risk Management Service, said that the origin of most fires is due to agricultural burns that get out of control.
According to reports from the National Service for Risk and Emergency Management, Loja, Chimborazo, Imbabura and Pichincha are the provinces that have lost the most green and protected areas due to forest fires.
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