Guatemala Counts 92 Active Forest Fires
On Wednesday, Guatemalan civil protection authorities counted 92 active fires, almost half of them in the north of the country, specifically in the department of Petén.
Flames devouring the forests of Guatemala, June 5, 2024 Photo: X/ @ConredGuatemala
June 5, 2024 Hour: 8:51 pm
Likewise, the authorities reported that between 2023 and 2024 there have been at least 2,591 fires registered, affecting an area of 46,482 hectares.
On Wednesday, Guatemalan civil protection authorities counted 92 active fires, almost half of them in the north of the country, specifically in the department of Petén.
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Likewise, the authorities reported that between 2023 and 2024 there have been at least 2,591 fires registered, affecting an area of 46,482 hectares.
According to the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred), the department most affected is Petén with 518 fires in total, 46 of them active. This province, 500 kilometers north of Guatemala City, is widely covered by forests.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo assured the level of complexity of the situation in Guatemala with the fires, which caused a decline in air in the country.
Institutions of the CONRED System have controlled an 80% fire registered in Ixpanpajul Natural Park of the municipality of Flores, Petén.
Air quality indices for local monitoring in Guatemala range from “Good”, “Moderate” and “Harmful to health” to “Very harmful to health” and “Dangerous”, the latter the one that the Central American country lived for several days in May.
Despite the serious environmental impacts facing Guatemala, Congress decided not to endorse a state of Calamity requested by President Arévalo de León, which would have provided additional funds to the government to face the fires.
It should be noted that the party of the current Guatemalan president is not a majority in the country’s congress.
Author: CC
Source: EFE
