Forest fires have consumed more than 2.000 hectares of land in the Guanacaste Conservation Area. Authorities speculate that the fires were deliberate.
The Cuerpo de Bomberos (Costa Rica’s Fire Department) says it currently has 40 brigades working on controlling the fires within the conservation area.
In addition to the Guancaste fires, the Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación (SINAC) – National System of Conservation Areas – on Thursday asked the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) – National Emergency Commission – to declare a yellow alert for the fire in the Alto de Chirripó.
The Alto de Chirripó is an Indian reservation that is located in Turrialbla (east of Cartago), and since last weekend a fire continue to maintain the local population on alert.
ust these past two years, how many hectares of forests have been lost to fire in Costa Rica? Wild fires will increasingly threaten large “green” areas during the dry season in the coming years. Costa Rica, and every other country, will need to provide the best training and equipment available/affordable to combat wildfires, or there will soon be no forests left to protect. Fortunately for us, the US is expected to see many large wild fires in the coming years, so Costa Rica will be able to benefit from improvements in techniques and equipment developed there.