In the last few hours, the fire in Epuyén, Chubut has fiercely advanced in the area. So far, there are at least around 200 evacuated people and close to 2000 hectares affected by the flames.
This was confirmed by provincial authorities, while the firefighters are struggling to keep up with combating the fire.
The fire presents a high level of complexity due to the interface areas, where the flames are advancing close to inhabited areas. This puts both people and homes at risk.
Fire in Epuyén: emergency declared
The fire broke out near the urban center and rapidly advanced from Wednesday at noon.
“There are different institutions working on the fire,” said Tegid Evans, Secretary of Forests of the province. Additionally, he mentioned they do not have the precise number of houses that have burned down.
Despite the hard work of the emergency teams, the flames rapidly advanced and forced the closure of national route 40 at the Cholila crossing.
The wind complicates the situation. (Photo: @cerroyplaya).
The fire, fueled by the wind, continues to advance rapidly, hindering control efforts and causing significant damage. The fire spread behind School No. 9 Mariano Moreno and the municipal cemetery, as reported by the municipality.
The executive of Epuyén, the fire brigade and firefighters, met to outline the evacuation operation due to the fire outbreak in the morning affecting a pine area.
Although it is expected that the strong winds experienced yesterday will decrease today, the alert continues in the area affected by the fire in Chubut, where the firefighting efforts include water bombers, heavy machinery, and tanker trucks.
“These are very sad days”
The municipality declared a state of emergency due to the critical advance of the forest fire affecting the region.
The mayor of Epuyén, José Contreras, was visibly moved. “These are very sad days because many houses have burned down and the fire has already advanced. The weather is not helping, there is a terrible wind, and unfortunately, it is out of control, only a miraculous rain can help us,” he stated.
“The wind here is like the one in Comodoro Rivadavia, just to give you an idea. With the forest we have, it is impossible to stop the flames, we are evacuating everyone to the Municipal Gym,” he expressed.
In this regard, Contreras affirmed that “there are more than 140 people dedicated to fighting the fire in the lake area of Epuyén,” belonging to various institutions from the area and nearby places.
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