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Severe dry weather fueling wildfires across Guyana
Wildfires in Region Nine
Kaieteur News – Severe dry weather conditions across country have fuelled the daily wildfires affecting the hinterland.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Saturday released maps displaying that the wildfires are currently widespread across Guyana and in other countries in this hemisphere. “These fires are primarily due to spontaneous combustion and possibly exacerbated by human activities”, the EPA stated.
Arapaimas being rescued by Conservationists
The agency added that activities such as burning of rice fields, farmlands, construction waste, vegetation and garbage in and around communities might have caused the fires to spread into nearby bushes and the forest.
Map of showing the hotspots of wildfires across the country.
As a result it has led to “thick smoke blanketing communities (downwind) and thereby affecting human health”, the EPA said.
Thick smoke from fires blanketing the Public Road at Mahaicony on Saturday
“Over the past few days, this has been more evident during evenings and early mornings along Corentyne, the East Bank Demerara corridor, and Georgetown, with air quality being moderate to unhealthy” the government agency added.
One Kaieteur News Reporter witnessed how devastating the effects can be as she travelled to Georgetown from Mahaicony. She recorded a video of how the thick smoke is affecting visibility for drivers as they manoeuvre their way along the East Coast Demerara Corridor.
To avoid further spread of the fire the EPA is calling on all citizens to play their part. They advised rice farmers, residents and all stakeholders to desist from burning rice fields, farmlands, construction sites and garbage during the prolonged dry weather period. “Please be advised that a National Wildfire Crisis Management Committee led by the Civil Defense Commission (CDC) is addressing this issue and will be boosting surveillance to prevent, detect and hold persons accountable”, the EPA said.
The increase and spread of wildfires have had the most devastating impact on the country so far. Just recently Kaieteur News reported that that a 93-year-old man was killed on March 13 after a wildfire ripped through his farm at Parakies Village, North West District (NWD), Region One.
Kaieteur News had also reported earlier this month that wildfires in Region Nine have been killing and chasing wildlife in that area from their natural habitat. Not only is the el nino contributing to the spread of wildfires but it is also drying-up rivers and creeks in the interior locations. Boats are unable to traverse some parts of the Cuyuni River, causing shortages of basic goods in those communities. Videos have been begun surfacing on the internet of dried up fish ponds and creeks. In one video people were seen picking fishes stranded in muddied pools. While in Region Nine, conservationists were forced to rescued Guyana’s largest fresh water fish, the Arapaima from rivers where the water had dried up.
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