More than 20,000 hectares of forest land, plantations and crops, especially coffee, were charred by the flames, authorities said. Firefighters, National Park Service workers and soldiers continue to battle the blaze.
Extensive fires were raging in eastern Cuba on Monday, closing in on residential areas, more than a week after they broke out near a national park.
More than 20,000 hectares of forest land, plantations and crops, especially coffee, have been charred by the flames, authorities said, as firefighters, national park service workers and soldiers continue to battle the flames.
The fronts are moving away from Mensurra-Piloto National Park (HolguÃn) and are moving towards the province of Santiago de Cuba, where the city of the same name, Cuba’s most populous, is located, according to authorities.
The flames are spreading over a “wide area”, there is “not just one focus”, Ernesto SantÃsteban, a local official of the Cuban Communist Party, said on state television.
Authorities are struggling to control the fires, which broke out on February 18. Among the factors that make their efforts difficult are that they rage in hard-to-reach areas, as well as that there are “adverse conditions,” Mr. Santisteban explained.
The region’s economy is already taking a heavy hit and it may take years to recover, Cuban officials point out.
This month’s fires added to dozens in January, which authorities said were far more than average on the Caribbean island.
Source :Skai
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