The dry climate and strong winds, of more than 60 km/h, which constantly change direction, make it difficult to fight the fire. The fire had originated in the area of Cerro Las Gemelas and advanced southwards to the towns of San Esteban, Dolores and Los Cocos.
For much of the day, a section of Route 38, which runs through the entire valley, was closed. Now the fire is approaching towns further south, such as Villa Giardino. Classes were suspended in those towns.
In statements to Cadena 3, Silvia Diomedi, the forecaster of the National Meteorological Service, said that “Unfortunately, for tomorrow and the day after, the meteorological conditions are quite adverse to this atmospheric drying that we are experiencing.” Temperatures during the weekend are expected to fluctuate between 30 and 35 degrees. Diomedi then stated that “There is no rain on the horizon until the 25th, when the humidity and cloudiness in the sky begin to increase, to be crowned on the 26th with a nice rainfall.”
There are more than 250 firefighters in the area and countless residents who are helping, not only with logistics, to protect the homes in these neighborhoods. It is expected that 60 more firefighters will arrive. Two water-dropping planes are also participating. A mobile hospital has been sent.
In the Traslasierra Valley, in the west of the province, another large fire has been recorded in the Chancaní area. These large fires, in native forest, are repeated every year in the province, affecting tens of thousands of hectares when months of drought and dry winds combine with high temperatures. On many occasions it has been reported that business interests, in order to achieve a change in land use, were behind the origin of the fires.
This week’s fires are not the first of the season. At the end of August and beginning of September, there were also strong fires, this time near the capital of Córdoba, in the La Calera Nature Reserve, an area for military use, which also came close to homes, and for which complaints of negligence were made to the authorities of the Third Army Corps. According to complaints from firefighters, they had carried out military exercises with combustible elements, in extreme weather conditions.
[NOTICIA EN DESARROLLO]
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
