Fire Controlled, Toxic Smoke Remains

A FIRE in a municipal landfill that threatened to spread to Panama’s oldest protected forest heritage, is under control but the region is suffering from vast clouds of toxic smoke.

Juan Martinez mayor of the district of Macaracas, in Los  Santos province where the blaze started at noon on Friday, February 16 said that barriers have been created to prevent the fire from reactivating.

He said that investigations are underway to determine if the fire was spontaneous or provoked, and support is being requested from the Urban Garbage Authority (AAUD).

Moisés Barrías, regional director head of the agency of the Ministry of Environment said that while the fire has been stopped, monitoring in the area continues because there are strong breezes and intense heat, and there are still concerns for El Colmón forest, which has been a protected area for 100 years.

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