Wikipedia

2020 Córdoba wildfires

The 2020 Córdoba wildfires are a series of wildfires burning through the Córdoba Province in Argentina.

2020 Córdoba Wildfires
Statistics
Total fires51
Total area60,000 hectares (150,000 acres)
Impacts
Deaths2

Over 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) are estimated to have been affected by the fires.[1] Fifty-one fires had been registered as of October 2020.[2] Residents of several towns had to be evacuated.[3][4][5][6] At least two persons died as a consequence of the fires.[7]

Provincial Justice started an investigation on the wildfires, suspecting they were started intentionally in some areas.[8][7]

Argentina was affected by several wildfires in 2020, during a pronounced drought, such as the 2020 Delta del Paraná wildfires.[9]

Background

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FIRMS Satellite imagery of the wildfires (September 2020)

The center Argentine region, primarily the Córdoba Province, has a temperate climate with a low-humidity winter. Rainfall season is limited to the spring and summer, while winters usually lack rains. This has been changing to a more humid climate, according to some opinions, due to climate change.[10]

During August 2020, the center region of Argentina experienced a drought, aggravated by an increase in winds, which favored the spread of wildfires.[11][12] Particularly, the Sierras de Córdoba Mountains Range went by over 100 days without rains,[11] with temperatures reaching 39 °C (102 °F).[6] The El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon was, by September 2020, in a neutral phase, with an increase of a La Niña phenomenon likelihood.[13]

The Córdoba vegetation cover is composed of "native mount" species—trees such as Prosopis (Spanish: algarrobos), pepper trees (molles), desert hackberries (talas), espinillos, and quebrachos—thorny shrubs, and in mountain areas grasslands with dry grasses. This vegetation is a big combustion risk during the dry season.[14]

Winter months usually harbor the most wildfires, with August being the month with the largest number of fires. In the 1999–2017 period, 5,528 fires stroke the Córdoba Mountains, affecting 700,385 hectares (1,730,690 acres).[15] In the 21st century, the largest number of fires was registered in 2003, with 364 fires, and the biggest affected areas being recorded in 2013, with 106,206 hectares (262,440 acres).[15]

95% of wildfires in Argentina are a consequence of human action, some intentional and others caused by neglect or carelessness after bonfires, the dropping of cigarette butts, or the burning of trash getting out of control.[2][16][15] Some intentional fires are believed to have been started by ranchers to clean pastures for further agricultural or husbandry usage of lands, and others for real state use, such as the construction of gated communities.[12][17][18]

Area Affected

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Area Towns Affected or Threatened
Valle de Punilla
Sierras Chicas
Ischilín Department
  • Ongamira
  • Copacabana
  • Cañada de Río Pinto
  • Villa Albertina
  • Villa Cerro Negro
Río Cuarto Department
  • Achiras

Firefighting

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Fires in Cerro Negro

Park rangers volunteered to help fight the fires.[19] As of 1 October, seven planes were being used (6 hydrant and 1 for support), and 200 brigadiers were deployed to fight the fires.[20]

Authorities had to insist on advising residents to not try to control the fires themselves, as they sometimes blocked roads while trying to do so, disturbing the firemen's work.[6][7] Some volunteer firefighters claimed neighbors should be trained to help fight the fires.[19]

Effects

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The environmental damage of the fires was deemed "unmeasurable", citing a biodiversity loss as well as a lowered catchment capacity of soils.[18][21] As the fires extend, an increased likelihood of future fires is expected in areas burnt in 2020.[15] Wildlife was also affected.[22]

As the Córdoba Mountains' vegetation is of slow growth, between 5 and 20 centimetres a year, about 30 years are expected to be needed for the forests to recover.[15][23]

Up to a 48% decrease in water capture is expected to hit the basins surrounding the burnt areas.[21][24] Mountain creeks are used for human water consumption, and are already affected by droughts. They could drag ashes and burnt material, affecting drinkable water quality.[21]

An agricultural state of emergency was declared in the affected areas, and relief packages were established.[25][26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Los incendios forestales arrasaron ya más de 60 mil hectáreas en Córdoba" [Wildfires already razed over 60 thousand hectares in Córdoba]. El Día (in Spanish). 30 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Daily Report" (PDF). National Fire Management Service (in Spanish). Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. 30 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Raging wildfires burn out of control in central and northern Argentina". Buenos Aires Times. 25 August 2020.
  4. ^ Origlia, Gabriela (1 October 2020). "Incendios en Córdoba: "En 35 segundos el fuego arrasó, no quedó nada", dijo un dueño del parque acuático Peko's" [Córdoba Wildfires:"In 35 seconds the fire took over, nothing was left" the owner of Peko's water park says]. La Nación (in Spanish).
  5. ^ Agüero, Fernando (30 September 2020). "Vecinos desesperados ante la llegada de las llamas: Evacuados en Carlos Paz y Santa Cruz del Lago" [Desperate neighbors waiting for the flames: Evacuated people in Carlos Paz and Santa Cruz del Lago]. Carlos Paz Vivo (in Spanish).
  6. ^ a b c Origlia, Gabriela (30 September 2020). "Alarma en Córdoba: ¿por qué se complica el trabajo de los bomberos para combatir las llamas?" [Alarm in Córdoba: Why is the fireman's job fighting the flames getting so complicated?]. La Nación (in Spanish).
  7. ^ a b c Origlia, Gabriela (25 September 2020). "Córdoba: dos hombres murieron por los incendios forestales" [Córdoba: two men died because of the wildfires]. La Nación (in Spanish). ISSN 0325-0946.
  8. ^ "Dos fiscales, la misma hipótesis: los fuegos fueron intencionales en el Pan de Azúcar y en el norte cordobés". La Voz (in Spanish). 26 August 2020.
  9. ^ Garrison, Cassandra; Heath, Maximilian (2020-08-24). "Raging fires in Argentina's Cordoba province prompt evacuations, threaten homes". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  10. ^ Origlia, Gabriela (12 February 2020). "Por el cambio climático: Córdoba es más húmeda y ya no funciona como meca de los asmáticos" [Because of climate change: Córdoba is more humid and no longer is the meca of asthmatics]. La Nación (in Spanish). ISSN 0325-0946. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Informe Nacional de Peligro de Incendios de Vegetación" [Nation-wide Report on Vegetation Fires Hazard] (PDF). Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (in Spanish). September 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Raging fires in Argentina's Cordoba province prompt evacuations, threaten homes". Reuters. 2020-08-24. Archived from the original on August 24, 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  13. ^ "El Fenómeno El Niño - Oscilación del Sur (ENOS)" [The El Niño - Southern Oscillation phenomena] (PDF). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (Argentina) (in Spanish). 1 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Alerta por riesgo de incendios forestales". Government of Córdoba Province (in Spanish). 3 July 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e Fernández, Andrés. "En casi dos décadas, en las sierras se quemó una superficie equivalente a 12 ciudades de Córdoba" [In almost two decades, an area equivalent to 12 Córdoba cities burned in the mountains]. UNCiencia (in Spanish). National University of Córdoba.
  16. ^ Martínez, Lucía (29 August 2020). "Cuáles son los principales factores que influyen en los incendios forestales" [Which are the main reasons influencing wildfires]. Chequeado (in Spanish).
  17. ^ Jofre, Mónica; Román, Valeria (6 September 2020). "Argentina está en el segundo lugar en el mundo por los incendios forestales" [Argentina places second in a world ranking of wildfires]. Diario Río Negro (in Spanish).
  18. ^ a b "Córdoba: califican de "incalculable" el daño ambiental y económico por los incendios". Ámbito Financiero (in Spanish). 28 August 2020.
  19. ^ a b Agüero, Fernando (30 September 2020). "Hay que capacitar a los vecinos para que sepan ayudar ante los incendios" [Neighbors need to be trained to know how to help fight fires]. La Voz del Interior (in Spanish).
  20. ^ "Daily Report" (PDF). National Fire Management Service (in Spanish). Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. 1 October 2020.
  21. ^ a b c Viano, Lucas (30 September 2020). "Secuela: el impacto de los incendios en el caudal de los arroyos serranos" [Sequel: the wildfires impact on the mountain creek's waterflow]. La Voz del Interior (in Spanish).
  22. ^ "Córdoba: asistencia a fauna afectada por los incendios". InfoAgro (in Spanish). 2020-08-26. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  23. ^ "Incendios forestales en Córdoba: en menos de 20 años arrasaron una superficie equivalente a 12 ciudades" [Córdoba Wildfires: in less than 20 years an equivalent 12 cities area was taken over]. Página 12 (in Spanish). 3 September 2020.
  24. ^ Cingolani, Ana M.; Poca, María; Whitworth-Hulse, Juan I.; Giorgis, Melisa A.; Vaieretti, María Victoria; Herrero, Lucrecia; Ramos, Silvia Navarro; Renison, Daniel (14 September 2020). "Fire reduces dry season low flows in a subtropical highland of central Argentina". Journal of Hydrology. 590: 125538. Bibcode:2020JHyd..59025538C. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125538. ISSN 0022-1694. S2CID 224955917.
  25. ^ "Córdoba anunciará el paquete de ayuda a los afectados por los incendios". El Diario de Carlos Paz (in Spanish). 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  26. ^ "La Nación homologó la emergencia agropecuaria por incendios en Córdoba" [National Government approved the agricultural emergency due to fires in Córdoba]. La Voz del Interior (in Spanish). 28 September 2020.
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