September 15, 2007
3 Million Acres Burning In Paraguay
Russian supertanker called to help. U.N sending aide as well as neighboring countries.
Image Waterbomber.com From the Los Angeles Times:
"BUENOS AIRES -- -- Wind-blown fires scorching the parched Paraguayan countryside have scarred almost 3 million acres of forest, brush, pasture and farmland, officials said Friday, forcing the evacuation of 15,000 people and threatening nature reserves.
A protracted drought and the common practice of burning land for agriculture have contributed to the disaster, which some authorities have called the worst fires in Paraguay's history.
"The complexity of the situation is well beyond human control," Jose Key Kanasawa, chief of the National Emergency Secretariat, told Inter Press Service. "The only thing we can do is contain it, resist it, stop it from spreading and pray that the rain comes."
Authorities have blamed an explosion of separate blazes largely on peasants who routinely use fires to clear pasture and farmland, especially to plant export crops such as soy beans and cotton. Hot, dry and windy weather has fanned the blazes.
But experts cite other culprits: illegal loggers seeking access to protected forest areas, clandestine marijuana farmers and illicit hunters opening paths. Many of the affected regions have few police officers or other authorities."
Hindustan Times reports;
"Paraguay declared a national state of emergency as wildfires have burned more than 600,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land......
"BUENOS AIRES -- -- Wind-blown fires scorching the parched Paraguayan countryside have scarred almost 3 million acres of forest, brush, pasture and farmland, officials said Friday, forcing the evacuation of 15,000 people and threatening nature reserves.
A protracted drought and the common practice of burning land for agriculture have contributed to the disaster, which some authorities have called the worst fires in Paraguay's history.
"The complexity of the situation is well beyond human control," Jose Key Kanasawa, chief of the National Emergency Secretariat, told Inter Press Service. "The only thing we can do is contain it, resist it, stop it from spreading and pray that the rain comes."
Authorities have blamed an explosion of separate blazes largely on peasants who routinely use fires to clear pasture and farmland, especially to plant export crops such as soy beans and cotton. Hot, dry and windy weather has fanned the blazes.
But experts cite other culprits: illegal loggers seeking access to protected forest areas, clandestine marijuana farmers and illicit hunters opening paths. Many of the affected regions have few police officers or other authorities."
Hindustan Times reports;
"Paraguay declared a national state of emergency as wildfires have burned more than 600,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land......
The Ilyushin plane can carry 40,000 litres of water per flight and was expected to be deployed for about five days, the Ultima Hora newspaper reported.
The fires are burning in the departments of Concepcion, San Pedro, Amambay and Canindeyu. Amambay and Canindeyu have important national parks containing endangered plants and animals.
Many of the fires have been blamed on land clearing by peasant farmers, a common practice in Paraguay. They were spreading rapidly because of a long-time drought, and meteorologists estimated that rain would come to the fire areas in 20 days at the earliest."
Labels: 2007 fire season, International
