Fires reignite in Argentine Patagonia: It's going to engulf our town if we don't do something now'

"The fires that began in early January and appeared to be contained in the province of Chubut, in Argentine Patagonia, have reignited in recent days and are advancing rapidly through native forests, plantations, and peri-urban areas. The town of Cholila, in the northwest of the province and just over 1,000 miles from Buenos Aires, is surrounded by fire: it is besieged to the south by the blaze that started in Los Alerces National Park and to the north by the one that began in Puerto Patriada."

"On January 15, the governor of Chubut, Ignacio Torres, announced that the fires were contained after two days of rain that were crucial in suppressing the flames. However, subsequent weather conditions reignited the blazes: the rain stopped, and there were days on which temperatures exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, accompanied by strong winds."

"While there are no official figures and it's difficult to estimate from the images alone, it's estimated to be at least 35,000 hectares. That's a huge amount for a single year and a summer season that's only halfway through, he adds. This is the most-damaging blaze in at least the last six summers, more than doubling (130%) the nearly 15,400 hectares burned in the previous record."

Fires that began in early January in Chubut, Argentine Patagonia have reignited and are rapidly advancing through native forests, plantations, and peri-urban areas. Cholila is surrounded by fires to the south from Los Alerces National Park and to the north from Puerto Patriada, prompting road closures and high alert among residents who organized volunteer brigades to defend homes. Rain on January 15 briefly contained flames, but subsequent dry, hot days exceeding 30°C with strong winds reignited blazes. The fire is behaving violently and has increased burned area by more than 50%, estimated at least 35,000 hectares, the worst in six summers.

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