Colombia declares a disaster because of wildfires and asks for international help
Colombia’s government has issued a disaster declaration and requested help from the international community to combat raging wildfires affecting the South American country
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Colombia’s government declared a disaster Thursday and asked for international help to combat raging wildfires that are expected to worsen in coming days due to warm, dry conditions associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon.
Officials raised the number of fires from 25 to 31, and said nine of them were under control. They did not order mandatory evacuations despite some fires burning in the mountains that surround some municipalities.
President Gustavo Petro said Chile, the United States, Peru and Canada have already responded to the call for help, without specifying when the assistance will arrive to the South American country.
The government also asked for aid from the United Nations and European Union.
“To the extent that we know that in the coming days and weeks crisis events are going to increase, we want to make sure that we have the physical capacity to address and mitigate them,” Petro said.
Colombia’s Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies reported that roughly half of the country’s municipalities are on maximum alert due to fire risk. But about a third of all municipalities do not have a fire department, according to the National Fire Department of Colombia.
The decreasing rainfall and increasing temperatures that are worsening the fire situation are attributed to El Nino, which is a temporary warming of parts of the central Pacific that changes weather worldwide.
The disaster declaration allows the government to reallocate funds to tackle the wildfires.
The army has deployed more than 600 soldiers as well as aircraft and vehicles to emergency areas.
Meanwhile, police are using planes authorized to spray chemicals on coca leaf crops to transport and drop water over the fires, including over those that broke out in a mountain range that surrounds Bogota, the capital.