Her government Bolivia declared a state of emergency yesterday Saturday because of the forestry fires raging in various sectors, the Ministry of Defense announced.

During a press conference, Edmundo Novijo, the defense minister, explained that the measure would facilitate the mobilization of resources and the rapid coordination of international assistance.

“It will allow us to have more flexible and effective support from friendly countries and thanks to international cooperation,” said Mr. Novijo.

Bolivia is experiencing the highest number of fires since 2010 — at least 30 million hectares of vegetation have burned this year, according to satellite data from INPE, Brazil’s space research agency, which routinely monitors forest conditions. fires.

Latin America is at the peak of the fire season, the two months of August-September. Already, unusually early fires have hit Bolivia in July, following a long drought.

Bolivia’s fire brigade has been overstretched and La Paz has appealed for international help.

Indigenous volunteers are trying to protect land they use for crops and livestock grazing near the Chiquitano Forest, north of Concepcion, which stretches towards the borders with Brazil and Paraguay, but some have had to be hastily evacuated from the area.

Brazil also faced giant fires, including some that threatened cities, as the Amazon rainforest region experienced its worst start to the season in two decades amid an unprecedented drought.