Around 545 hectares (ha) of forest in Pinar del Río were consumed by flames in recent days, after two large wildfires broke out in the municipality of San Juan y Martínez.
This Saturday afternoon, forces from the Forest Rangers Corps (CGB) and forestry companies finished extinguishing the largest of the blazes, which started last Monday in the pre-mountain area of Galafre Nuevo, in an area known as Máquina Vieja.
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Pereda Burón, head of the CGB in the province of Pinar del Río, told the Cuban News Agency (ACN) that the fire in that area caused havoc on around 390 hectares of young pine forests, acacias, and eucalyptus, among other species, before it was completely controlled.
The first of the fires, which occurred in Agua Dulce, in San Simón de las Cuchillas, was extinguished several days ago and damaged about 156 hectares of Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea).
In less than six months, 78 wildfires have occurred in Pinar del Río, which have devastated over a thousand hectares of forest.
According to the official agency, around 95 percent of these incidents originated from the negligent actions of the individuals.
The authorities point to the main causes as the circulation of vehicles without spark arrestors and burning for multiple purposes, holding poachers and passersby accountable.
Last April, the forest ranger team extinguished a fierce fire in the mountainous areas of Viñales, where the flames consumed 350 hectares of forest. This was the first large-scale fire recorded so far this year in Pinar del Río.
From January to date, other large-scale forest fires have been reported in several Cuban provinces.
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