The El Niño phenomenon will bring heat waves and a prolonged dry season to Cali, between the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, which can mean forest fires and water shortages.
Given this climatic situation, a devastating fire broke out in the hills of Cali.
The conflagration that occurred in the village of Los Limones, in the township of La Castilla, in the rural area of the city, was attended by firefighters from the capital of Valle and other agencies of the district administration.
Relief agencies and other entities in charge of dealing with this type of emergency arrived at the site, but after more than eight hours of exhaustive work, it was not possible to control the conflagration of vegetation cover.
This fire is the largest registered in Cali so far this year, according to the official report of the Fire Department.
Although the exact impact on the flora and fauna has not yet been assessed, fortunately no injured people or endangered homes have been reported.
The support of the Colombian Air Force was needed
Through a tool called bambi bucket, with which fires are controlled from the air.
“From the Risk Management Secretariat we have activated the emergency response strategy with the protocols that we already have established to activate the route also with the support of the bambi bucket that allows us to have this support from the Force first thing in the morning. Aérea Colombiana”, indicated Rocío Díaz Sánchez, undersecretary for disaster management of the Secretariat for Risk Management Rocío Díaz Sánchez, assured that the agencies in charge of dealing with this type of emergency did everything in their power to extinguish the flames. in the hills of Cali.
“At this moment we are in the Los Limones village. All the inter-institutional actions have already been coordinated to carry out the attention in operational terms that allow us to control the fire of vegetal cover; however, conditions do not allow it,” said the official from the Cali Mayor’s Office.
Cali Volunteer Fire Brigade
“We are located in the upper part of the Vía del Mar to be able to see the fire that broke out in this sector. A brigade moved through the Limones sector. The other came through the Castilla sector to carry out activities again. In the same way, the Bambi Bucket was also organized. They are working on the issue to start making downloads at the top”, explained Sergeant Fernando Murillo.
“After having worked fourteen continuous hours from the moment of the fire until three in the morning, we returned to resume work,” added Sergeant Murillo. The Firefighters of the Valle del Cauca capital reported that at least three mountains are affected by the flames.
“Almost seven hours of continuous work by our Firefighters and the Los Limones Forest Brigade have been completed to control and mitigate the forest fire that is registered in the area, affecting 3 mountains so far,” they indicated around 10:00 p.m. Thursday July 13.
Likewise, they ruled out fatalities or people injured due to the conflagration that continues without being extinguished.
“Fortunately there are no seriously injured people, nor homes at risk. They have not yet reported a cessation of activities, but it is scheduled to start tomorrow at 05:00, ”they added.
In line with the report they delivered from the Disaster Risk Management Secretariat, the Cali volunteer fire department also assured that the weather conditions did not help to deal with the serious fire.
“It has been a laborious task for our units due to the terrain conditions and the force of the wind that makes mitigation difficult. At the moment we cannot quantify the impact on flora and fauna. Emergency in progress ”, they closed from the volunteer fire department.
Strategies to control forest fires
The recurrence of these weather phenomena is always present on planet Earth.
The environmental crisis, the consequences that climate change will bring, the need to move towards a new type of energy that does not endanger the development of the planet.
Faced with this scenario, the Mayor’s Office of Cali, through the Administrative Department of Environmental Management (DAGMA), works tirelessly to maintain the fire barrier on one of the main tutelary hills of the city, Los Cristales, where find the monument to Christ the King.
“We have been carrying out a series of technical maintenance on the fire barriers with the entire ranger team. They are spaces of between 20 and 25 meters and 5 linear kilometers for the protection of life,” said Óscar Villani, deputy director of Dagma Ecosystems.
This barrier was built following a level curve and taking some paths little traveled by inhabitants of the sector and other strategic areas. For the live barriers, 153,000 individuals of the fique species were initially established in 17 hectares, among which agave, pita, maguey, cabuya and penca stand out.
“These barriers have periodic maintenance every three months: a team of 16 rangers is used, five scythe workers and the rest of the people are support to collect the plant material. The work consists of scything and the others clear the place of all combustible material”, explained Édgar Sánchez, Dagma ranger.
It is important to highlight that the work is carried out in terms of governance with the rangers, community brigades and early warning brigades, doing coordinated work to protect the hills.
“We call on the entire community to help us be vigilant in protecting our hills, the forest and the ecosystem. It is key to mention that 99% of forest fires are caused by man. In this sense, we insist on the call to support us in the task of surveillance”, added Óscar Villani.