The Ministry of Environment says that the blaze that affected Valle Nuevo National Park was caused by a small farmer who used fire to raze a plot of forest land in Padre Las Casas to prepare for planting. The blaze lasted about a week and destroyed a large section of forestry in La Vega province.
The Ministry of Environment says the man knew the area was off limits for farming.
Environment Minister Miguel Ceara Hatton reportedly flew by helicopter over the area. He would meet with the head of the Forest Fire Department, Geronimo Abreu, who would have assured him that the advancing of the fire had been stopped on Sunday, 5 March 2023. Abreu informed that the burned logs will continue to smoke for several days, but he ruled out the danger of the fire becoming surging again.
Hoy reports that the fire was eventually put out thanks to the support of Dominican Air Force units. Air Force crews on board recently acquired US-made UH-1H/II helicopters labored for nine hours to put out the fire in the Valle Nuevo area bordering Constanza, La Vega province. The helicopters were
equipped with “Bambi Bucket” devices, with a capacity of up to 1,300 liters of water for large-scale fires.
The Ministry of Environment called a press conference for Monday, 6 March 2023 to give details.
Read more in Spanish:
Presidency
N Digital
Diario Libre
Ministry of Environment
El Dia
Hoy
El Dia
6 March 2023