Fires continue to rage in several parts of Columbia as the Columbian Air Force races to combat the spread with a fleet of Black Hawk helicopters in the fight fitted with Bambi Buckets in fires that have consumed over 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) of vegetation in the South American nation.
A large part of the country is still on alert, indicated the director of the National Meteorological Institute, IDEAM, Ghisliane Echeverry: “We have, at the time of our update, more than 900 municipalities threatened by forest fires, practically almost the entire country”, he said on Friday as temps reached record highs as the country ended 2023 as the hottest on record in Columbia.
Columbian president Gustavo Petro called for a state of emergency this week to secure additional funding that will allow for international help to be mobilized as the country’s firefighting assets may reach the limit of their capabilities to fight an ongoing wildfire battle.
