Córdoba (Argentina) (AFP) – Firefighters are working this Wednesday to control the only outbreak that is still active in the Argentine province of Córdoba, where forest fires forced the evacuation of dozens of families and caused the loss of several homes, although no injuries were reported, authorities reported.
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The fire broke out on Monday in a grassland area of the Punilla Valley in the central-western region of the province, 760 km northwest of the Argentine capital.
The wind, the dryness of the grasslands and the high temperatures helped spread the flames towards homes and several were destroyed in a balance of losses still without official data.
Dozens of families were evacuated preventively and others self-evacuated due to the smoke that took over the entire mountain area that remains under alert.
“There is a detainee who intentionally started the fire and I hope that the full weight of the law falls on him,” said the governor of Córdoba and presidential candidate Juan Schiaretti.
Media reported that the subject, a 27-year-old man who was arrested, admitted to having lit a bonfire to heat water and then being unable to control the flames.
“What it has caused is almost a catastrophe, people had to be evacuated, homes that have caught fire, luckily we do not have to regret human losses,” the governor said on Tuesday in statements to the local press.
Three fire hydrant planes and a helicopter worked in coordination with brigades in the area to extinguish the fire.
The only focus that remains active this Wednesday is in the area of Tulumba, in the center-north of the province.
Weak rains that fell in the affected region during the early hours of this Wednesday contributed to containing most of the outbreaks.
This Wednesday, inspection planes flew over the region to contribute to the work of guarding ashes to prevent the appearance of new outbreaks.
The National Meteorological Service maintains a strong wind alert for the center, east and north of Córdoba.
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