Since a forest fire struck Saturday 21 March morning on Isabela Island the Galapagos National Park( GNG), Navy of Ecuador, National Police, and other institutions have been working to quell the blaze. Finally, yesterday, Thursday morning, the fire became under control.
The fire lasted for 5 days, burning approximately 87 hectares. The area continues to be monitored so the fire does not return.
Previously the fire, which was burning in the agricultural zone in the Cerro Verde area of Santo Tomás, in the highlands above Puerto Villamil, in southeastern Isabela, became out of control according to reports from Galapagos. Reports said the fire was not affecting endemic species. No human life was reported threatened. A team of 33 national park rangers had been working since last Saturday to try to control the fire, but the strong winds of the zone and the dry vegetation have made the situation worse.
La Dirección Regional de Espacios Acuáticos Insulares is part of the plan to control the fire and they had sent a boat with 35 persons and materials as a contingency, from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno to Puerto Villamil.
The fire-fighting team deployed to combat the blaze includes eight park rangers, six police, six members of the Navy, two members of Firemen's Corp, and a member of the Civil Defence, in addition to two backhoes and a tanker truck.
Among the team's first actions was the construction of an eight-meter fire-break to halt the spread of the blaze.
The Galapagos National Park Service, in coordination with the Ministries of Government, Environment, and Defense, brought in additional heavy machinery to try to extinguish the fire.
Reports last Wednesday stated the fire did not represent any danger for Galapagos species. The Cazuela area, some seven kilometers distant, was the nearest site to the conflagration with a population of giant tortoises, but was not considered at risk because prevailing winds were blowing in the opposite direction.
