Colombian forest fires have destroyed over 17,000 hectares

As Colombia prepares for its hottest January in decades, officials said on Friday that since November, forest fires have destroyed more than 17,000 hectares of the country. Environment Minister Susana Muhamad stated that during that time, there have been over 340 recorded fires, with 26 of them still raging. The fires have been sparked by a protracted drought, extreme heat, and the El Nino weather phenomenon. Since Monday, Colombia has been fighting multiple fires close to the capital, some of which are in the mountains overlooking Bogota. Due to the poor quality of the air, authorities have advised residents living near burned areas to stay indoors. “Today, we have a fire in the Nevada del Cocuy,” a natural park with snow-capped peaks about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Bogota, Muhamad told a news conference. She added that the flames were at a “quite high” point in the park, so a helicopter had been deployed to assess the situation. - Smoke in Bogota - One of the fires is burning about 900 metres from Bogota’s eastern El Paraiso neighbourhood. Some residents affected by the smoke were being treated, the Colombian Red Cross in Bogota wrote on social media platform X, alongside photos of emergency workers helping a man wearing a facemask. President Gustavo Petro this week declared a natural disaster, allowing funds to be diverted from other budget items towards containing the blazes, and appealed for international aid. Bogota’s El Dorado international airport returned to normal operations on Friday after restrictions the previous day affected 138 flights. This month is shaping up to be the hottest January in 30 years, according to Ghisliane Echeverry, director of the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies in Colombia. Echeverry warned February could see even higher temperatures, and only in March will rains help to “mitigate” the consequences of the extreme heat. Authorities are investigating whether arsonists are causing some of the fires, and police have arrested 26 people for “fire-related offences”. (with inputs from AFP)