⁍ In 2019, wildfires destroyed more than 6 million hectares in the Bolivian Amazon.
⁍ So far this year 1.1 million hectares have burned, according to the government.
⁍ Authorities reported more than 50 active forest fires.
– “We are declaring a national disaster due to drought and fires.” That from interim Bolivian President Jeanine Anez, who on Thursday declared a state of disaster in the eastern part of the country due to wildfires that have destroyed more than 6 million hectares of forest and agricultural land so far this year, per Reuters. The area destroyed was twice as large as last year’s, according to the non-government organization Friends of Nature Foundation. “We are facing a serious threat and we do not want what happened last year to happen again,” Anez said. “The fires are advancing, and due to winds and high temperatures there is no other way to face this crisis.” The country’s defense minister adds more than 600 families have been affected, though no fatalities have been reported.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bolivia-wildfires/bolivia-declares-natural-disaster-due-to-wildfires-600-families-affected-idUSKBN26T3G3