RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A forest fire raging for more than two weeks in Cuesta del Ternero in the Argentine region of Patagonia has not been fully controlled, the country’s environmental authorities said on Tuesday, February 10th.
Deputy Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development , told Radio Provincia that the fire in the tourist area of El Bolson in the southern province of Rio Negro “is contained, but not controlled.”
The fire started on January 24th after a family had a barbecue a few meters from a forest and did not put out the fire, which quickly spread through the area.
Meanwhile, the Forest Fire Prevention and Fighting Service of Rio Negro indicated that the estimated area affected “is approximately 7,500 hectares, considering the fire’s new advances.”
On Saturday, the Rio Negro provincial government declared a state of emergency and disaster in the area, due to the environmental damage and the risk to inhabitants.
In recent hours, the fire threatened the homes of a Mapuche indigenous community, but it has been contained some 200 meters from the houses.