Colombia Declares Tolima Fires a Public Calamity and Hunts the Arsonists
COLOMBIA · ENVIRONMENT
Key Facts
—What happened: President De la Espriella declared a public calamity over the Tolima fires, with more than 50,000 hectares burned.
—How big: About 28,000 of the burned hectares are farmland, and 2,660 producers have lost crops or livelihoods.
—The catch: The government says the Tolima fires were set deliberately, by criminal hands, not sparked by accident.
—The reward: Up to 50 million pesos (about US$16,000) is offered for information leading to the arsonists’ capture.
—The backdrop: Colombia is still digging out from a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that killed 331 people on 10 August.
—What comes next: An elite police and military unit will hunt the fire-starters, and a farm recovery plan is being prepared.
Colombia has declared a public calamity in the department of Tolima, where wildfires have burned more than 50,000 hectares, and President Abelardo de la Espriella is offering a reward for the people he says set them on purpose.
A calamity declared from the fire line
De la Espriella announced the measures on Thursday 27 August in Ibagué, Tolima’s capital. He had chaired a Unified Command Post, the emergency session Colombia convenes at the centre of a crisis.
The Tolima fires have now affected more than 50,000 hectares, according to the balance the president presented. Around 28,000 of those hectares are farmland, and 2,660 producers have been hit.
The numbers have grown at frightening speed. The fires had burned about 11,000 hectares by 18 August, and close to 22,000 by 24 August.
Tolima’s departmental government had already declared a public calamity on 14 August, when 38 fires were active. Thursday’s announcement raises the fight against the Tolima fires to the national level.
In Colombian law, a public calamity declaration unlocks fast-track spending and contracts. It lets agencies skip normal procurement rules to move money and equipment quickly.
“Criminal hands” behind the flames
The presidency’s statement is blunt about the cause. It speaks of forest fires started by criminal hands, not by lightning or careless farmers.
De la Espriella offered rewards of up to 50 million pesos (about US$16,000) for truthful information. The tips must lead to the capture of people who set the Tolima fires intentionally.
He also ordered an elite unit to be formed immediately. It will combine intelligence, investigation and operations from the security forces to identify and catch those responsible.
The announcement carried a harder edge. The president offered 500 million pesos (about US$160,500) each for two commanders of a FARC dissident group active in the region.
The two men, known by the aliases Yamaha and Leonel, belong to the structure of alias Iván Mordisco. That group broke away from the 2016 peace deal with the FARC guerrillas and never laid down arms.
According to the presidency, these armed groups are exploiting the emergency. It says they have launched drone attacks in southern Tolima while rescue services fight the fires.
What is burning, and why it matters
Tolima sits in central Colombia, in the Magdalena river valley between two Andean ranges. It is coffee and rice country, and one of Colombia’s big food-producing departments.
Since 1 August, 304 separate fire hotspots have been recorded there, according to the regional paper Vanguardia. That works out at more than ten new fires a day.
The Tolima fires have now burned an area roughly the size of 70,000 football pitches. Much of it is steep hillside, where fires move fast and firefighting aircraft struggle to reach.
For the 2,660 affected producers, the damage is immediate. Burned pasture means no feed for cattle, and burned coffee bushes take years to produce again.
A country already stretched by the earthquake
The Tolima fires land on a state already working at its limit. The 7.4-magnitude earthquake of 10 August killed 331 people and injured 4,439, per the disaster agency UNGRD.
The agency’s most recent published balance, dated 24 August, still listed 240 people as missing. That figure has been falling steadily as search teams identify victims and find survivors.
More than 361,000 people were affected by the quake across 16 departments. The government decreed an economic, social and ecological emergency to fund the response.
Firefighting aircraft, soldiers and disaster staff are therefore committed on two fronts. The same state capacity that digs through rubble in Cali and Pereira now fights flames in Tolima.
What comes next
De la Espriella paired the calamity declaration with a recovery plan for the countryside. Details of that plan, including compensation for producers, are expected in the coming days.
The elite unit’s first test will be speed. Wildfire arson is hard to prove after the fact, and the dry season in the Andes still has weeks to run.
“There will be no impunity,” the president said in Ibagué. For the farmers watching their hillsides burn, the arrests matter less than the rain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Colombia declare a public calamity in Tolima?
Wildfires have burned more than 50,000 hectares in Tolima, including about 28,000 hectares of farmland. The declaration lets the state fast-track money and resources to fight them.
How much is the reward for the Tolima fire arsonists?
President De la Espriella offered up to 50 million pesos, about US$16,000, for information leading to the capture of people who set the fires intentionally.
Who does the government blame for the fires?
The presidency speaks of criminal hands and links the emergency to armed groups in the region. It offered 500 million pesos each for two FARC dissident commanders known as Yamaha and Leonel.
Where is Tolima?
Tolima is a department in central Colombia, in the Magdalena river valley between two Andean ranges. Its capital is Ibagué, and it is a major producer of coffee and rice.
Is Colombia still dealing with the August earthquake?
Yes. The 7.4-magnitude quake of 10 August killed 331 people, and 240 were still listed as missing on 24 August. More than 361,000 people were affected across 16 departments.
Connected Coverage
We first reported the outbreak on 18 August in Tolima Wildfires Scorch 11,000 Hectares in Central Colombia, when the burned area was less than a quarter of today’s figure.
Sources
Presidencia de la República de Colombia, statement of 27 August 2026 from Ibagué; CAMBIO (Colombia), 28 August 2026; Vanguardia, 24 August 2026; Gobernación del Tolima, 14 August 2026; UNGRD balance of 24 August 2026 via BluRadio. Exchange rate used: 1 US dollar = 3,114.72 Colombian pesos.
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