Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Forest Fire Alert

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

GUATEMALA CITY, May 13 2006 (IPS) - Guatemala declared an “orange alert” due to 18 fires in the northern department of El Petén, which threaten the archeological sites of Tikal and Piedras Negras, as well as the protected area Laguna del Tigre. Army spokesman Jorge Ortega told Tierramérica that the armed forces are coordinating plans to fight the forest fires. Last Sunday, six trips were made by helicopters carrying thousands of liters of water to douse the flames.

According to Sipecif, the national forest fire prevention system, so far this year there have been about 200 incidents, which have claimed some 800 hectares of forest.

An estimated 173,000 hectares of forest are destroyed in Guatemala each year, of which 28,500 hectares are in protected areas.