INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES (21ST CENTURY)

2010

ECOCIDE
noun
destruction of the natural environment,
especially when deliberate.

INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES

(Largest Fires of the 21st Century)

Bolivia Forest Fires
(2010)

(Satellite Imagery)

THIS FIRE CONTINUES TO RAGE AFTER 13 YEARS.
IT’S TIME TO PUT IT OUT.

#9

LARGEST FIRE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The Official Story

2010 BOLIVIA FOREST FIRES
(9th Largest Fire of the 21st Century)

The 2010 Bolivia forest fires led the country’s government to declare a state of emergency, as wildfires spread across the country. More than 25,000 fires are burning across 15,000 square kilometres (3,700,000 acres). These raging fires have destroyed nearly sixty homes. Bolivia is unable to combat the fires properly as it does not have enough water bombing aircraft.

There was a steep jump in fire hot-spots from 17,000 on Sunday August 15 to approximately 25,000 three days later. Some of the blazes were so strong that firefighters were unable to get close enough to contain them. The head of Bolivia’s forestry service, Weimar Becerra, described the fires as “a total disaster, it is an environmental disaster. We have six forest fires which have a height of 50 m and are growing, and as a country we do not have the capacity to put them out”.

Damage

Currently the worst of the damage has been to the country’s section of the Amazon. The fire is largest in the eastern part along the country’s border with Brazil. Smoke from the fires has halted numerous flights and forced many smaller airports to close temporarily. Despite being enveloped in smoke, Bolivia’s main international airport in Santa Cruz has stayed open, while 23 regional airports have been closed down. According to Cliver Rojas from Bolivia’s forests/land department, the most affected region was the Amazonian province of Pando in the north.

Cause

Farmers using fire to clear land for planting combined with extreme drought caused the plants to dry out, allowing the fires to run rampant.

Source: Wikipedia