Related videos:
Six wildfires remain active in mountainous areas of Pinar del Río, where they have devastated 760 hectares of forests, according to preliminary data released this Thursday by the Forest Rangers Corps (CGB).
The most significant disaster is concentrated in the locality of La Lanza, in the municipality of Minas de Matahambre, where the flames have consumed 612 hectares of pine trees since it began last Friday, and they are still out of control.
Rubén Guerra Corrales, head of fire management and control at the Forest Rangers in the western province, explained to the Cuban News Agency that the backburn implemented on Wednesday afternoon and evening was not effective, so efforts to contain the fire continue in order to extinguish it.
According to the official, the strategy involves continuing to provide counterfire and opening paths with the mechanized equipment.
More than 200 forest rangers from Minas de Matahambre, Mantua, and Viñales, alongside workers from the mining company, assisted by two bulldozers, are trying to halt the progress of this fire, classified as the first of "very large proportions" in the province during the period from January to May 2026.
At the same time, rangers and workers from the agricultural system are facing a large-scale fire in the area known as La Güira, on the borders between the municipalities of Pinar del Río and San Juan y Martínez, which has affected 93 hectares of pine and semi-deciduous forest on acidic soil (white forest).
To quell this fire, a plan similar to that of Minas de Matahambre is being implemented, stated Guerra Corrales. The active hotspots in both cases do not pose a danger to nearby populated areas, but winds gusting up to 30 kilometers per hour, the severe drought, and the presence of combustible material complicate their control.
The other four fires reported in the province are of moderate size; three of them remain active: the one in La Solita has burned 15 hectares and the one in La Vigía has burned 10, both located in San Juan and Martínez; while another fire located at kilometer 17 on the road to Luis Lazo, in the northern part of the municipality of Pinar del Río, has caused damage to 10 hectares of pine forests.
The only one that is already under control is the one in the El Polvorín area, in the municipality of La Palma, where 30 hectares burned.
The head of fire management and control at the CGB of Pinar del Río indicated that the causes of all incidents are already under investigation.
Since the beginning of 2026, 46 fires have been recorded in Pinar del Río, which have devastated more than 950 hectares of forests.
This situation confirms the predictions of experts, who had forecast a very active season of wildfires in the western region from January to May of this year.
In April 2025, a fire of very large proportions broke out in the Arenales area devastating more than 3,240 hectares of forests in the municipalities of Minas de Matahambre and San Juan y Martínez, marking the worst natural disaster of its kind for the year.
Filed under: