news

Fires in El Salvador destroyed 2,000 hectares

San Salvador, Apr 13.- About 2,000 hectares (17.2 square kilometers) of land were destroyed by fires in El Salvador in recent months, firefighters reported.
The figure might be minimal for a large country but El Salvador has a territorial extension of 21,041 square kilometers only and a big population density.

Fire Department General Director Baltazar Solano said that the number of fires in recent months exceeded those reported in 2023.

In an interview on local television, Solano explained that between January and March 2024, more than 2,300 fires have been reported, and most of them have been forest, brush and agricultural fires.

He added that compared with 2023, there is an increase of more than 400 fires, and warned that these fires not only affect the land and kill several species of animals, but also “represent an enormous pollution of the environment.”

Statistics show that between January 1 and March 31, 2024, there were 1,719 dry brush fires and 107 forest fires, in addition to fires in garbage dumps, vehicles and structures.(Take from Prensa Latina)