Fires ravage islands of Paraná River delta in Argentina

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Thousands of hectares of wetlands have been devastated in Argentina due to fires affecting islands in the Paraná River delta, where firefighters continued their work on Tuesday to try to extinguish the fire.

The fires affected islands in the Paraná River in the provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos, but in some cases very close to the province of Buenos Aires.

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According to official sources, the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, and Entre Ríos “are working together to fight the fire” with the National Fire Management Service.

According to a communiqué from the government of Entre Ríos, about twenty fire brigade members were working on Tuesday to fight the fires in the Delta islands in front of the Buenos Aires town of San Nicolás.

“There is a fire front, specifically near San Nicolás, and previously it was in front of the town of San Pedro,” said the Secretary of Environment of Entre Ríos, Daniela García.

The official pointed out that in islands, the fire is very particular “because there is a lot of dry matter accumulated and it remains lit in places that cannot be seen with the naked eye and, when the wind changes, the fire comes back”.

“The people who fight the fires are very prepared, and we thank all those who want to collaborate in going with their boats and joining in, but we ask them not to do so because it is hazardous”, said García.

The operation is made up of personnel from the Forestry Brigade of the police of Entre Ríos, Civil Defense and the Fire Management Plan of Entre Ríos and firefighters from Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires supported by a helicopter of the Argentine Army and a water tank plane that joined this Tuesday, sent by the national government.

In addition, there is another command post installed in the port of Santa Fe that works to combat the outbreaks located to the east of the capital of Santa Fe, in the islands of the Paraná.

SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

The intense wind, the lack of rainfall, and the historic drop in the water level of the Paraná River are some of the factors that have caused the fire to spread to the islands, a region of wetlands rich in biodiversity.

This Tuesday, the Argentine Minister of Environment, Juan Cabandié, said in declarations to Radio Con Vos that most of the outbreaks are already under control and rains are expected for the next hours in this region.

The minister warned of the “serious environmental damage” due to the “radiation produced by the fire, the gases that spread, the effect on flora and fauna in an area of wetlands, in an impoverished context such as the historical descent of the Paraná”.

“Given the aerial visualization made this Monday and the maps and systems we use, as of today, we count 8,600 hectares devastated by the fire in the islands of the Paraná,” he said.

Cabandié pointed out that these fires are intentional, provoked b y agricultural producers “to renew pastures for cattle” raised on the islands. “In other cases, they are hunters who burn to visualize the species they hunt,” he affirmed.