Announcement

**LaMenchos** · August 19, 2010, 12:02 PM

Re: Emergency for forest fires in Latin America

NASA - Forest fires in Bolivia and Brazil

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=45310&src=nha

Scores of fires swath Bolivia in smoke in this true-color image from August 16, 2010.

**LaMenchos** · August 19, 2010, 12:19 PM

Re: Emergency for forest fires in Latin America

Fires destroy 1.5 million hectares of forest land in Bolivia
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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> [ 18 Aug 2010 03:09 ]

Baku-APA. At least 1.5 million hectares of land have been ravaged by fires in four of Bolivia?s nine provinces, with 25,000 individual blazes detected, officials said Tuesday, APA reports quoting Earth Times.

The worst-affected was the Amazonian province of Pando in northern Bolivia, said Cliver Rojas of the government department that oversees forests and land.

Rojas noted that the fires were largely due to what is known as "chaqueo," the practice of burning down grassland for cultivation. It spread rapidly because of dry conditions and strong winds.

He added that the fire was threatening the town of Puerto Rico in Pando, and air traffic had to be suspended because of smoke in several parts of eastern Bolivia.

The smoke also led to the suspension of flights at Viru Viru airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, which is the largest in the country.

http://www.en.apa.az/news.php?id=127976

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**LaMenchos** · August 19, 2010, 12:28 PM

Re: Emergency for forest fires in Latin America

The acre is often used to express areas of land. In the metric system, the hectare is commonly used for the same purpose. An acre is approximately 40% of a hectare.

The hectare is a unit of area, defined as 10,000 square metres, and primarily used in the measurement of land.

Acre - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre

**LaMenchos** · August 19, 2010, 12:43 PM

Re: Emergency for forest fires in Latin America

The fire reduced to ashes 1.5 million hectares, smoke prevents operations in 4 airports

August 18, 2010 at 07:49 by Zoe

(Google Translate)

Danger. Manuripi ecological reserve in Pando, is threatened. Government takes action in the Tunari. Alert over air quality in Santa Cruz. There are more sources of heat in recent years

Fires: In the town of Guarayos, Santa Cruz, the fire devouring forestry.
La Prensa
Fires threaten the park Manuripi and smoke affects visibility at 4 airports
Damage: According to ABT, the fire burned 1.5 million hectares throughout the country. Santa Cruz emergency be declared tomorrow.
Fires threaten Manuripi Nature Reserve in Pando. The Government asserts that the fire reduced to ashes 1.5 million acres so far this year across the country and that the smoke affects visibility at airports in Cobija, Trinidad, and Riberalta Guayaramer?n, so that these cities were isolated airway.
Erika Navarro, head of the Environmental Unit of the Governor of Pando, said the fire is at least half an hour away in slider (boat) in the municipality of Puerto Rico (Pando) and moves, pushed by the wind , to the Reserve Manuripi.
Told reporters in the region on fire and destroyed some 7,000 hectares. "From satellite images we have, the burning in this county is very big and we can not control it."
In addition, fires, started by slash and burn, around the towns of Philadelphia and Villaflor, where, says Navarro, two other outbreaks of magnitude. "We have sent a technical team to make an assessment, and after taking a report to be completed until Friday, with the three municipalities involved, could declare emergency department."
...
As for damages, Santa Cruz is the department that posted higher losses, because there are more than 50 houses devoured by fire and about 120 families homeless.
...

Conditions increase the capital Santa Cruz the smoke begins to feel the effects of fires and fires not only in the provinces of this department but in Beni, Pando, Cochabamba and northern La Paz, including Brazil. A sample air quality is in this city, which begins to generate effects in the population.

Carlos Alberto Hurtado, Head of Disaster and Emergency Headquarters, said that while the smoke has intensified in the capital, yet there has been an increase of patients with health problems, but said 97 people have been the first victims for this cause in rural areas. San Ignacio, El Puente and Samaipata are the three municipalities where people were reported affected with respiratory infections, skin problems and conjunctivitis. Between 30 and 35 consultations a day are served in the municipal hospital Guarayos problems related to eye irritation or sore throat due to the thick smoke, said Yeguanoy Vidal, director of the medical center. Yeguanoy said most of those affected were schoolchildren.

On air quality alert in the capital

Fuego. Between 30 and 35 cases of sore eyes and throat are in the hospital for Ascension (Guarayos) by smoke. Other 97 people were affected in three municipalities
Contaminated. So yesterday's capital wearing Santa Cruz, covered by a blanket of smoke

R. Escobar and correspondents, El Deber
The capital city begins to feel the effects of fires and fires not only in Santa Cruz province, but in departments such as Beni, Pando, Cochabamba and north of La Paz, including Brazil. An example is the air quality currently logged the city of Santa Cruz. It went from green to yellow and red now, which means bad (see chart). The historical index reveals that the city has reported 43 days with two red and yellow range (26 May to 17 August) so far this year.

... The main pollutant is suspended particle or particulate matter (PM or PM) of less than 10 microns, said Edgar Garcia, manager of the Technical Unit (Clean Air Project), under the Directorate of Environment of the commune. It is therefore recommended to limit the time outdoors, especially those at risk. Also, avoid open areas because such air is the cause of adverse health effects, particularly children and older adults with cardiovascular or respiratory diseases.
..

He also reported that 97 people have been the first victims for the same cause in rural areas. St. Ignatius, The Bridge and Samaipata are the three municipalities where it was reported people affected by respiratory infections, skin problems and conjunctivitis were the same as those addressed by the Government.

The situation is repeated in Guarayos. Between 30 and 35 consultations a day are served in the municipal hospital Guarayos problems related to eye irritation or sore throat due to the thick smoke, said Yeguanoy Vidal, director of the medical center.

Yeguanoy said most of those affected are the students, although it is not clear that cases of conjunctivitis, but irritation, burning, headache, malaise and fatigue.

Likewise, some people suffer from the municipality of San Ignacio de Velasco, as the rural community of Candelaria. There, the smoke has caused the children to present problems of eye irritation and conjunctivitis.
But the fire, which was a surprise to the community the past 12 Candelaria uncontrolled fires not only eight homes turned to ashes, leaving nothing to equal number of families, but also destroyed 130 hectares of grassland and the grotto of the Virgin said the chief of the affected communities, Jos? Antonio Pachur?. "The problems are serious, for 150 head of cattle do not find anything to eat, since everything is in ashes and we need help to feed, otherwise they could die," he said.
Also reported another fire in the San Luisito, located east of San Ignacio, but not regretted loss of life or homes burned.
Meanwhile, the Government prepared a mitigation plan against fire. The Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Interior, Manlio Roca, reported that through August 6354 Santa Cruz recorded hot spots in the 15 provinces Santa Cruz, most are caused by the constant chaqueo of crops, pasture, among others. The worst affected areas are the Chiquitania, Velasco, Guarayos, Angel Sandoval and Busch Germain, and is expected to be declared in the same emergency.

Cease to operate single-engine
The airport in AASANA Trompillo reported that the reduction in visibility due to thick smoke that affects the capital Santa Cruz, zhave ceased to operate single-engine aircraft.
Similar is the situation in the Viru Viru International Airport. Although national and international flights are normal, suffer a delay because they must apply the instrumental procedure for landing.
...

Moreover, yesterday Riberalta (Beni) partially resumed flights of Military Transport afternoon, but their operations were threatened by the unexpected grassland fires in areas adjacent to the apron, causing the effective mobilization of the Air Force to try to smother the flames.

Government takes action in the Tunari

Fire in the Tunari Park last Sunday. - The Times Photo | The Times
By Jackeline Rojas Heredia - The Times - 18/08/2010

...
...
There are more sources of heat in recent years

Fuego. There are problems in areas of Ixiamas, Marb?n, Angel Sandoval, Guarayos and Puerto Rico

H. Christian Pe?a y Lillo El Deber

The heat sources 24 961 registered in the country until yesterday than the data of the last four years. The Control Authority and Social Survey of Forest and Land (ABT) is concerned that in September this figure exceeds more than 50 400 points of fire detected six years ago.
According to reports from the ABT, which has records since 2000, the highest peaks were identified in 2004, with 50 464 sources of heat, followed by 29 743 2005, and 24 961 counted so far. Added to this the number of acres burned to date, 1.6 million, exceeding the 1.2 million damaged by fire last year.
Cliver Rocha, executive director of the ABT, who yesterday met with representatives of institutions and sectors Santa Cruz, said they have trouble controlling the fire in the Park Villa Tunari, Cochabamba, in the provinces Guarayos and Angel Sandoval, Santa Cruz, in the town of Puerto Rico, Pando, where the flames threatened to reach the reserve Manuripi; Ixiamas Area in northern La Paz, and Marb?n Province in Beni.
...
Other details
- Neighbor. Brazil recorded so far this year 30 825 outbreaks of forest fires, double the 15 228 registered in the same period in 2009, according to figures released by the National Space Research Institute.
...

Read more: ... # ixzz0x4LSUHfl http://eju.tv/2010/08/el-fuego-reduc

by Google Translate

**LaMenchos** · August 25, 2010, 02:21 PM

Re: Emergency for forest fires in Latin America

Fires in South America
(This is a pretty large file) http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ima...010234_lrg.jpg
<o:p></o:p>
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA?s Aqua satellite detected 148,946 fires in this image on August 23, 2010. The fires are outlined in red. Most of the fires are concentrated in Bolivia, where the governments of two states had declared a state of emergency because of widespread fires three days earlier. Scores of fires also burn in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.<o:p></o:p>
The fires cloak the heart of South America in gray-white smoke. Spreading north and south along the east side of the Andes Mountains, the smoke extends over the entire 2,500-kilometer length of the image. The smoke closed 28 of Bolivia?s 39 airports, reported CNN on August 19.<o:p></o:p>
While some fires do occur naturally in Bolivia, most of these fires were probably set deliberately to clear land for crops or pasture. August is the height of the dry fire season in the region. In 2010, however, unusually dry weather and winds allowed many land management fires to expand into dangerous large wildfires.<o:p></o:p>
?<o:p></o:p>

References<o:p></o:p>
Casey, M. (2010, August 20). Bolivia wildfires affect air travel.The Weather Network. Accessed August 25, 2010.<o:p></o:p>
CNN. (2010, August 19). Wildfires rage in four Bolivian states; emergency declared in one.Accessed August 25, 2010.<o:p></o:p>

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.<o:p></o:p>
last updated: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:32:11 GMT <o:p></o:p>

Full text and images:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=45449&src=nha<o:p></o:p>

Announcement

Emergency for forest fires in Latin America

Emergency for forest fires in Latin America

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