In arson due, according to the authorities, fire which burns it Los Alerques National Park (Los Alerces ) in Patagonia of Argentina for three days. The fire has already destroyed approx 6,000 acres while the firefighters’ battle with the flames continues.

In the midst of a southern hemisphere summer, record-breaking temperatures are being recorded, 40° Celsius and more, in Argentinian Patagoniaan area covered by desert, usually frozen and windswept, in the far south of the country.

Dozens firefighters were continuing to fight the flames yesterday to prevent the fire from reaching nearby towns Eskel and Trevelinabout 2,000 kilometers southwest of Buenos Aires.

“We have confirmation that the fire was intentional,” said Ignacio Torres, the governor of Chuvute province, after a raid in the area on Sunday.

Those responsible for the fire, he added, “must be held accountable before justice”, calling for extremely strict “exemplary treatment”.

During an interview with the Rivadavia radio station, Governor Torres said he suspected that the fire put members of the organization RAM (Resistencia Ancestral Mapuche, “Ancestral Resistance of the Mapuche”).

This radical, fringe organization of the indigenous community Mapuche claims lands taken from their tribe by the state in the 19th century and also fights against the exploitation of the forest.

Governor Torres, however, made a distinction between the indigenous community, “which works very well”, and the RAM members, whom he accused of being “liars” and engaging in “property buying and selling”.

Los Alerques Park was designated part of the World Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2017.