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Fires ravage over a million hectares of Bolivia’s forests. As of Thursday, August 19 officials
reported that at least 1.5 million hectares of forest land had been charred, with the
number of individual blazes having jumped to more than 25,000 and approximately 60 homes
destroyed. A state of emergency has been declared in departments such as Santa Cruz, as flames
from the largest fire in Pando have already scorched 10,000 hectares and are threatening
the village of Puerto Rico as well as the Manuripi forest reserve. Dense columns of
smoke have also affected people’s health and have prompted the closure of 28 of Bolivia’s
39 airports. President Evo Morales reported that many of the flames ignited from the yearly
practice of farmers clearing land but sparked out of control due to the hot, dry weather.
On Thursday, the Environment and Water Ministry called for a halt to this method as the nation’s
president also warned that the country does not possess the necessary equipment to extinguish
flames of this magnitude and is calling for water-tanker aircraft assistance from neighboring
Brazil and Argentina. Meanwhile, government official Cliver Rocha stated that Bolivians
were praying for rain in the hope that the continued forecast for dry weather would change.
Our appreciation, President Morales, firefighters and other personnel for your efforts to ensure
the safety of the Bolivian people. We join in the prayer for life-renewing rain and that
such intense conditions subside through our more gentle stewardship of the environment. �