The mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, announced that the risk season for forest fires in Bogotá was over. The flames that had been recorded on El Cable hill were extinguished by relief agencies and the territory is being monitored.
“This first stage of what is going to be the risk season in terms of forest fires is over. The Fire Department has already informed me of the situation of the fire on El Cable hill, it is already liquidated and in the process of saving the ashes, which is the last part of the process that the firefighters carry out to prevent it from resurfacing,” said the president. district.
However, the District’s emergency response agencies keep the alert active and prepare to respond in time in case a new conflagration occurs in the forests. According to forecasts, the El Niño phenomenon will continue for several weeks.
“From January to today there have been 136 forest fires in Bogotá, these are the best known, the most visible, but there are many more that occurred and in terms of climate it is expected that there may be many more in February,” he said. Mayor Galan.
The balance of the first stage of fires in the eastern hills due to three outbreaks that occurred on El Cable hill, La Vieja ravine and the Serafín cemetery, was more than sixty hectares affected. Likewise, 15 people were injured, with minor injuries and the majority are already stable in their homes.
“It is really sad and dramatic that this has happened, we have to work harder and harder to do prevention and that will be a fundamental task that we all have to fulfill,” said the mayor of Bogotá when delivering the results against the forest fires in the capital. .
Paula Henao, director of the Bogotá Official Fire Department, assured that they will advance articulation strategies between emergency care institutions, as well as with the communities that live in vulnerable areas, to anticipate new emergencies.
“We have to anticipate emergencies, institutionally strengthen the fire department and the institutions of the district emergency system. We are developing inter-administrative agreement actions with the Civil Defense, with the volunteer firefighters, to have lookouts that can help us verify and, through the forestry brigades, to be able to make advance tours that allow us to identify possible sources or hot spots that could generate a forest fire,” Henao said.
The Fire Director called on citizens to heed the recommendations and not contribute to generating situations that affect everyone. “Remind citizens of the importance of not creating fires, bonfires, or cigarette butts that can spread these fires and affect the ecosystem, the community, the population, and air quality,” Henao requested.
The mayor pointed out that the restoration process of the affected areas will be carried out under a scientific concept and in the company of the CAR Cundinamarca, which is the entity in charge of the forest reserve of the eastern hills. He even announced that they hope to evaluate the situation of thorny broom, an invasive plant that would make it easier for fires to spread.
Likewise, the president assured that he will raise with the environmental authorities and the Bogotá Council the possibility of interventions in the eastern hills to adapt spaces that facilitate fire response. Galán proposed the creation of swimming pools or water systems for water access for firefighters, because, for example, an 18-kilometer network of hoses was deployed on El Cable hill. With Infobae