At least two firefighters were injured and more than 100 families were evacuated from their homes due to the the fires that broke out this Tuesday afternoon in Quitothe capital of Ecuador, which authorities estimate will not be able to be extinguished until Wednesday.
In a joint press conference with provincial and national authorities, the mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñozexplained that The Patronato San José shelter system was activated to accommodate evacuated families.
The evacuation was carried out as a precautionary measure, as so far there has been little damage to homes and infrastructure, according to Muñoz, who said no deaths have been reported.
The fire broke out in a rural area and quickly spread on different fronts until reaching the urban center of the Ecuadorian capital. and join the metropolitan park.
Muñoz said that 215 firefighters from Quito are participating in the fight against the flames, which he described as “heroic,” and stressed that some 440 people have been mobilized on the different fronts of the emergency.
Two helicopters on the way
The National Police deployed more than 1,600 soldiers and the Armed Forces about 180 soldiers, according to reports. Efewhile the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) ordered two helicopters to join firefighting effortseven though they will not be operational until Wednesday morning.
With this, there will be between five and seven helicopters that will participate in the work of unloading water on the flames, added Muñoz, who asked citizens to avoid moving as much as possible with their vehicles through the streets of the city, to facilitate the transfer of aid organizations.
For his part, Interior Minister Mónica Palencia has asked Quito residents to provide data to help identify those responsible for the fires. and said that a reward system had been created in this regard.
Palencia also asked citizens to help find 15 police horses lost in the fires.
Paola Pabón, prefect of the province of Pichincha, whose capital is Quito, assured that the mechanisms that this local government has, as well as the health, veterinary and social assistance brigades and units, will be at the service of the municipality in this emergency.
Finally, the Minister of Government, Arturo Félix, offered the full support of the government to assist the municipality of Quito in the face of the series of forest fires that broke out this Tuesday.
In search of those responsible
Felix said that in the face of the “attack” that the country’s capital is suffering, the Government will provide all its support to the city’s municipality, while launching a new appeal to citizens to help locate those responsible for these scourges.
A succession of similar fires occurred a few days ago in Quitoapparently deliberately provoked, led to the arrest of two people who were placed in preventive detention.
The national government suspended the planned power cuts in Quito for Tuesday night as part of the rationing that began last week, due to the severe drought that is preventing the country’s main hydroelectric plants from operating normally.
The drought has also begun to cause water supply problems in parts of central and southern Quito, which have begun experiencing service outages of up to 12 hours a day this week.
According to the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (Inamhi) of Ecuador, The country is experiencing its worst dry season in 61 yearswhich has facilitated the spread of fires, with more than 23,400 hectares affected by flames since August.
