August-September 2024 Ecuador wildfires | |
---|---|
Location | Some places in Ecuador |
Impacts | |
Structures destroyed | Some houses and several wooded areas in Ecuador |
Ignition | |
Cause | Human negligence or arson (suspected) |
In August 2024, multiple wildfires started in Ecuador. [1] What they resulted from is currently unknown.
Some cities in Ecuador such as Loja, Quito and Guayaquil have been affected by forest fires to such an extent that the Peruvian government has been forced to send personnel and support aircraft to stop the forest fires. [2]
More than 10,980 hectares have been affected by the scourges [3]
The 2009 Mediterranean wildfires were a series of wildfires that broke out across France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Turkey in July 2009. Strong winds spread the fire during a hot, dry period of weather killing at least eight people, six of whom were in Spain. Some of the wildfires were caused by lightning, along with arson and military training.
The Great Fire of Valparaíso started on 12 April 2014 at 16:40 local time, in the hills of the city of Valparaíso, Chile. The wildfire destroyed at least 2,500 homes, leaving 11,000 people homeless. An additional 6,000 people were evacuated from the city, which was placed on red alert and declared a disaster zone. Fifteen people were confirmed killed and ten suffered serious injuries.
A series of wildfires burned across Chile during January 2017.
Fires in Galicia are caused by deforestation and brush clearing, the removal of indigenous fauna, and arsonists. The fires have been occurring since the mid-1990s. Fires in Galicia represent 50% of the area burned each year in Spain and 40% of all fires.
During August 2019, a number of forest fires broke out in the Canary Islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote. The fires on the island of Gran Canaria were the most severe, resulting in the loss of large areas of the island's forests and leading to the evacuation of thousands of residents from a number of towns and villages. The intense heat brought by a heat wave and the presence of strong winds, combined with the island's mountainous terrain, made extinguishing activities exceptionally difficult.
The 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires season saw a year-to-year surge in fires occurring in the Amazon rainforest and Amazon biome within Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru during that year's Amazonian tropical dry season. Fires normally occur around the dry season as slash-and-burn methods are used to clear the forest to make way for agriculture, livestock, logging, and mining, leading to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Such activity is generally illegal within these nations, but enforcement of environmental protection can be lax. The increased rates of fire counts in 2019 led to international concern about the fate of the Amazon rainforest, which is the world's largest terrestrial carbon dioxide sink and plays a significant role in mitigating global warming.
The 2020 Delta del Paraná wildfires is a series of wildfires that are burning across the Delta del Paraná in Argentina, affecting mainly the Entre Ríos and Santa Fe provinces, but also Buenos Aires, including major cities as Rosario.
The 2020 Córdoba wildfires are a series of wildfires burning through the Córdoba Province in Argentina.
The Argentine Patagoniawildfires begun on Sunday March 7, 2021 when a focus of fire appeared at kilometer 21 of Provincial Route 6 of Río Negro Province, Argentina. Subsequently, the fire spread to Las Golondrinas, Lago Puelo, El Hoyo, El Maitén and Cholila in Chubut Province, following the 42nd parallel south. The fire would spread aided by the wind reaching populated areas where there have been reports of burned vehicles and the destruction of hundreds of houses. Servicio Nacional del Manejo del Fuego helped people evacuate the area. Various causes have been proposed for the fire, including the fall of a trees on electrical transmission cables, given that the fires follow the electrical wiring. Intentional fires have also been proposed as a cause. National minister of Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, Juan Cabandié, called for an investigation through a criminal complaint about the causes of the fire. As of March 12, 2021, 11 people were missing.
The 2022 Tierra del Fuego wildfire was a fire that affected the Chilean commune of Timaukel in the west of Tierra del Fuego Island in southernmost South America. The fire was discovered on January 20 but since no flames could be found it was reportedly believed that it was already extinguished. It began in land owned by the forestry company Forestal Russfin. Days later the fire was envigorated and consumed various hectares of forest.
The 2022 Corrientes wildfires were a series of wildfires burning throughout the Corrientes Province in Argentina. It began in January of that year and continued to be active in many parts of the province, having consumed more than 800,000 hectares, which is equivalent to approximately ten percent of the province. The fire advanced over fields, mountains, wetlands and nature reserves, including the Iberá Wetlands, and has caused material damage estimated at between 25 and 40 billion pesos.
The 2022 Araucanías wildfires are a series of wildfires in the Chilean region of Araucanía. By February 26 57,000 ha had been burnt by fires. The commune of Traiguén and China Muerta National Reserve were on February 26 the places were most resources being used to fight fires. By February 25 180 haa had been consumed in China Muerta and the fire had not yet reached Conguillío National Park.
In mid-January 2022, the Southern Cone had a severe heat wave, which made the region for a while the hottest place on earth, with temperatures exceeding those of the Middle East. This extreme weather event was associated with the Atlantic anticyclone, a particularly intense La Niña phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, and the regional effects of climate change.
Starting on 30 January 2023, a series of wildfires began in the South American country of Chile. By early February, the fires had developed into a large outbreak of at least 406 individual fires, several dozen of which were classified as "red alert fires". The fires burned more than 430,000 hectares and resulted in the loss of 24 lives, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency in multiple regions of the country.
In February 2024, a series of wildfires broke out in Chile, affecting multiple regions including Valparaíso, O'Higgins, Maule, Biobío, and Los Lagos. The most severe incidents occurred in the Valparaíso Region as of 5 February 2024. The Chilean government labeled the fires as the country's worst disaster since the 2010 Chile earthquake, and declared a two-day national mourning period.
On 15 August 2023, a forest fire broke out on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands of Spain. The fire, driven by the wind, heat, and low humidity levels, caused mass evacuations, widespread damage to the island's flora and fauna, as well as power and water supply cuts in some of the affected municipalities.
In 2024, 62,131 wildfires detected by the Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS) burned an estimated 46,101,798 hectares of tropical wetland in Brazil's Pantanal in Mato Grosso do Sul, the Amazon rainforest, and the Cerrado. According to satellite data from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research, the number of fires from 2024's beginning to 10 June showed a 935% increase compared to the same period in 2023 with 1,315 fires being reported compared to 127 fires in 2023.
The 2024 South American wildfires refer to a mega colossal series of wildfires that significantly impacted several neighboring South American countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Based on Global Wildfire Information System satellite imaging, about 346,112 wildfire hotspots damaged or destroyed 85,866,867 hectares. The massive area burned was primarily caused by anthropogenic climate change and the resulting consequences of the 2023–2024 South American drought on fire conditions. The wildfires caused significant deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, and also impacted several other international biomes including the Pantanal wetlands, becoming the second largest series of wildfires in the 21st century next to the 2023–24 Australian bushfire season, with the 2024 Brazil wildfires alone reaching fourth in area burned.
The 2024 Argentina wildfires refer to significant outbreaks of wildfires primarily across Northern and Central Argentina that devastated large stretches of forests and farming land. The intensity and spread of the wildfires markedly increased in August and September 2024 due to drought conditions and elevated temperatures.