At least two firefighters were injured and more than a hundred families were evacuated from their homes due to the fires that broke out this Tuesday afternoon in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, which authorities do not believe can be destroyed. off until Wednesday.
In a joint press conference with provincial and national authorities, Quito Mayor Pabel Muñoz explained that activated the hosting system of the Patronato San José to serve the 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 It all started in a rural area and soon it spread to different fronts until reaching the urban center of the Ecuadorian capital and 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. The National Police has deployed more than 1,600 soldiers and the Armed Forces about 180 soldiers, while the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) has ordered two helicopters to join the firefighting efforts, but they will not be operational until Wednesday morning.
With this they will be between five and seven helicopters those who participate in the work of pouring water on the flames, added Muñoz, who asked citizens to avoid moving their vehicles through the streets of the city as much as possible, to facilitate the transfer of aid organizations.
For her part, the Minister of the Interior, Mónica Palencia, asked the inhabitants of Quito to provide data that would allow find those responsible for the fires and said that a reward system had been created in this regard. Palencia also asked citizens to help find fifteen police horses lost due to 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, They 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. Those responsible are being sought, said Félix, in the face of the “attack” suffered by the capital of the country, the Government will provide all its support to the municipality, while launching a new appeal to citizens to help locate those responsible. the flagella.
A series of similar fires that occurred a few days ago in Quito, apparently started deliberately, have led to the arrest of two people who were sent to preventive detention. The national government suspended for this Tuesday evening the planned power cuts in Quito 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.
IThe drought has also started to cause supply problems water in parts of central and southern Quito, which began to experience service cuts of up to twelve hours a day this week. According to Ecuador’s Meteorology and Hydrology Institute (Inamhi), the country is experiencing its worst dry season in 61 years, which has facilitated the spread of fires, with more than 23,400 hectares affected by flames since August.
