The Federal Oral Court of Paraná set the dates for the start of the trial for the 2022 Delta del Paraná fires. They affected more than 6000 hectares of land.
Three beekeepers will be judged for the “crime of willful destruction.” The spread of the ashes reached Rosario and Buenos Aires.
Delta del Paraná Fires: when does the trial start
The accused are three individuals identified by the initials: “J.A.M.”, “O.A.M.”, and “M.R.M.”. They will be judged for having caused the fires that destroyed approximately 6000 hectares in an area of high environmental value, during the months of August and September.
They had been caught by police personnel while attempting to burn dry vegetation in an area of the Delta islands.
The serious fires of 2022.
The hearings will take place in the city of Victoria during the 29th and 30th of May and 12th and 13th of June.
The magnitude of the environmental damage
According to the Uno de Entre Ríos portal, the evidence includes videos illustrating the magnitude of the environmental damage and the spread of ashes to Rosario and Buenos Aires.
The city of Santa Fe was severely affected by this situation; even the provincial health department warned residents to keep doors and windows closed, resume the habit of wearing masks, and avoid outdoor physical activities.
Moreover, the health secretary had requested the postponement of all possible activities.
In an attempt to prevent smoke from entering their homes, people in Rosario covered their doors with towels and avoided going outside. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM) of the National University of Rosario (UNR) stated that it was “one of the worst ecological disasters.”
For the scheduled day at the end of the month, the presence of 15 witnesses is expected, including environmental specialists from the National University of Rosario (UNR) as part of the testimonies.
The events of 2022
During 2022, the burned area represented 62% of the total recorded in the country, according to a monitoring carried out by the National Fire Management Service (SNMF).
Most of it occurred in Entre Ríos, but also on the provincial border with Santa Fe and in a zone in the north of Buenos Aires province.
The same agency reported that in Buenos Aires, the fire outbreaks occurred in the departments of Zárate and Baradero, and on the Entre Ríos side, in Ranchada, Laguna Vásquez, Barrancoso, Las vueltas (Victoria), and El Cuadro, Ybicuy, Falso Alsina, Islas, Dormilón (Gualeguay).
They also specified that they had to fight the flames in the areas of Laguna chata (Victoria) and Charly 2 (Gualeguay) and Islas La Lechiguana 1 (Gualeguay).
The magnitude of the fires.
The operation involved more than 100 firefighters, 10 aircraft, 3 hydrants, 5 helicopters for personnel deployment, and a helicopter from Buenos Aires. Additionally, the Ministry of Environment installed a monitoring system that allowed the detection of any new intentional fire outbreaks.
