The intentional fires started in Chubut this Monday remain active and have already ravaged approximately 2000 hectares.
This severely affects various Patagonian localities and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
Recently, authorities also detected the presence of accelerant material in the hotspots, confirming the hypothesis of an intentional origin of the fire.
On Wednesday, National Route 40 was interrupted in the morning due to the advance of the flames.
However, at 8 a.m. this Friday, Road Administration confirmed that traffic was already enabled between El Hoyo and Epuyén.
The section was closed to allow the work of emergency teams and fire fighting, to which the largest firefighting plane in Latin America was added in recent days.
Authorities requested drivers to take extreme precautions, as there are still areas with reduced visibility and active operations along the route.
The fires in Chubut were intentional: the evidence
Prosecutor Carlos Díaz Mayer stated that the fire started in inhabited areas, intentionally.
“Almost the entirety of these forests, which are very difficult to regenerate, were set on fire,” said the judicial official.
Díaz Mayer confirmed that the fire “started with an accelerant or gasoline, which indicates that someone wanted to set it intentionally.”
This statement reinforces the hypothesis of a deliberate act that caused the environmental catastrophe.
In this line, the Security Department led by Alejandra Monteoliva assured that “the 95% of fires have a human origin“.
Currently, investigations continue to identify the responsible parties for the incident.
Mass evacuations and critical areas
The fires had a greater impact on the localities of El Hoyo and Epuyén, in the province of Chubut. There, more than 3000 tourists in the middle of the summer season had to be evacuated from the area.
Around 1800 hectares have already been consumed by the flames in these localities.
The fire remains active since Monday, January 5, causing serious consequences in several localities in the region.
The environmental damage is considered difficult to recover according to experts.
The main affected areas include:
- El Hoyo: locality with the greatest impact of evacuations
- Epuyén: critical area with approximately 1,800 hectares affected
- National Route 40: section temporarily interrupted by the advance of the fire
The problem of long-term environmental recovery
Prosecutor Díaz Mayer warned about the long-term consequences of the disaster.
“It will take years and years to recover something similar,” he stated regarding the destroyed forests.
Patagonian ecosystems have slow regeneration characteristics, which implies decades of natural recovery.
The destruction of these 2000 hectares represents an irreparable loss for the natural heritage of the region.
Authorities continue working on controlling the fire and preventing new outbreaks.
Emergency teams maintain active operations throughout the affected area to prevent spreading.
