Nuevo León: forest fire in the Sierra de Santiago was 100% controlled

Almost a month after the forest fire occurred in the Sierra de Santiago, Nuevo León, the entity's Civil Protection reported that the accident was 100% controlled, with 98% liquidation.

Preliminary, it is estimated that the fire affected about 5,000 hectares of litter and low scrub, mainly, of which 96% were superficial. However, liquidation and surveillance work is still ongoing in hot spots.

This fire was recorded on March 24 and, due to high temperatures and strong gusts of wind, the fire spread rapidly to the area of Puerto Genovevo. Around 817 brigade members from the National Forestry Commission (Conafor), the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), the National Guard and Civil Protection of the municipality of Santiago, Montemorelos, Monterrey, Guadalupe and Arteaga, Coahuila participated in the liquidation and control work.

In addition, nine aircraft were used, one DC 10 aircraft and one King Air 350 aircraft. However, despite constant efforts, the fire could not be controlled, so the mayor of Santiago, David de la Peña, extended an invitation to citizens to join as volunteers.

According to Gerardo Moreno, coordinator of the volunteer network, at least 406 people participated voluntarily, of which 200 supported the work of direct fire fighting, he said to ABC Noticias. Among other activities they carried out were the transport of food and the collection of food.

And it is that on at least two occasions the incident got out of control. On April 6, State Civil Protection reported that, due to gusts of wind of more than 70 kilometers per hour, dense plumes of smoke were generated, so more than 30 people had to be evacuated from Puerto La Camotera, as well as 30 fighters.

Similarly, during the night of April 11, the municipal authorities informed the communities of La Nogalera, Covadonga and Caballo Cola about a possible evacuation of the area due to the fact that the fire hit the area of Port Genovevo by gusts of wind of 30 kilometers per hour.

For his part, the governor of the entity, Samuel García, had announced that rain would be caused in the area by bombing the clouds with silver iodide, an action that came out successfully and that helped to mitigate the fire. The feat, carried out by the National Guard and the Army, was shared by the state governor on his social networks.

Previously, Samuel García had reported on the ban on campfires and roasted meats in the entity's protected natural areas in order to prevent future forest fires and explained that the fire was caused by a burning of garbage that was not controlled at the time.

According to Conafor, as of April 18, 67 active fires have been registered in 19 states of the Republic, which have preliminarily affected an area of 17,604 hectares.

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