NewsWhore
04-07-2010, 08:30 PM
The US National Air and Space Administration (NASA) has identified 32 forest fires in one day in the DR. Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal admitted that "for the beginning of the year, the forest fire season has been very intense" and that "things are getting out of hand" even though it is too early to compare this season with previous years.
In the first 4 months of the year, 17,867 tareas (nearly 707,000 hectares) have been affected by 77 forest fires all over the national territory, not counting the one sighted in the Jose del Carmen Ramirez National Park yesterday or the ones that were brought under control on Monday in the Park of the East.
So far, the biggest fires have occurred in the last two months. In Monte Plata on 21 March, nearly 4000 tareas (158,000 hectares) of a coconut tree plantation burned. On 12 February in La Culata de Constanza 2,000 tareas of ferns and forest were burned. On 4
February in the area of La Galaxia in Azua, 3,000 tareas planted with native pine, yaragua and ferns were burned. On 10 March in Loma Vieja in Azua 1000 tareas of local pine, guava, caimito and yaragua were lost.
Although over 1,000 Ministry of the Environment employees have been working to tackle the fires, they occur with such frequency that military personnel have also had to be brought in from far away to help with the efforts.
"The Air Force, the Army and Civil Defense units have been our allies and we have had to call on members of the Ministry to go to these locations far from their normal areas", said Fernandez Mirabal.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)
In the first 4 months of the year, 17,867 tareas (nearly 707,000 hectares) have been affected by 77 forest fires all over the national territory, not counting the one sighted in the Jose del Carmen Ramirez National Park yesterday or the ones that were brought under control on Monday in the Park of the East.
So far, the biggest fires have occurred in the last two months. In Monte Plata on 21 March, nearly 4000 tareas (158,000 hectares) of a coconut tree plantation burned. On 12 February in La Culata de Constanza 2,000 tareas of ferns and forest were burned. On 4
February in the area of La Galaxia in Azua, 3,000 tareas planted with native pine, yaragua and ferns were burned. On 10 March in Loma Vieja in Azua 1000 tareas of local pine, guava, caimito and yaragua were lost.
Although over 1,000 Ministry of the Environment employees have been working to tackle the fires, they occur with such frequency that military personnel have also had to be brought in from far away to help with the efforts.
"The Air Force, the Army and Civil Defense units have been our allies and we have had to call on members of the Ministry to go to these locations far from their normal areas", said Fernandez Mirabal.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)