Germania Perez, who is in charge of the forestry in Villa Altagracia, north of Santo Domingo, accused illegal wood traffickers of taking advantage of the drought to cause fires to draw attention away from where they would engage in wood cutting. She said in Parque Haina-Duey they were able to confiscated oak, cedar, mahogany wood that had been recently cut in a nearby area. She complained of the lack of equipment and staff to police the wood smugglers. She said that clandestine brigades cut down the trees during the night in Villa Altagracia.
The president of the Fundacion Ecologica de Villa Altagracia said that the fires on the Duarte highway have not happened by chance. He said they are part of a plan to pilferage valuable wood trees in the area. El Caribe newspaper reporterse counted 122 burned areas on the route from Los Alcarrizos to Piedra Blanca, along Duarte Highway.
Listin Diario reports that Environment Minister Max Puig stated that 23 persona have been arrested in regards to fires in Bayaguana, San Juan, El Seibo, Monte Plata, Villa Altagracia, Santiago and Higuey. Puig said they have had more than 90 figures in March and most have been put out.
TV producer Rafael Corporan called out for all of society to join efforts to combat the pillaging of forestry resources.