Fires destroyed hundreds of acres of protected land in Guanacaste Costa Rica.

For the past 15 days, the dry forests of el Área de Conservación Guanacase (the Guanacaste Conservation Area) have been burning. Over 600 hectares (approximately 1,483 acres) are affected, and it remains unknown who set the fires.

The Guanacaste Province is known for its dry, hot weather and at the end of a long summer, the region is particularly prone to uncontrollable fires. Luis Diego Román and Julio Díaz, employees of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae) and the Program for the Control and Prevention of Fires, say that the wildfires have destroyed much of the area’s vegetation and tropical dry forest.

The first of the destructive fires began on March 20, Jueves Santo (Maundy Thursday), and burned through the Santa Elena mountains, destroying 36 hectares (90 acres). On that same day, four more hectares (10 acres) between Cuajiniquil and La Cruz were consumed by rampant wildfire. And just a few days ago, on either March 31 or April 1, a third fire lit up the Guanacaste countryside and swallowed up a devastating 520 hectares (1,285 acres) on La Draga Mountain.

Minae employee Román says that these latest wildfires began in parts of the Guanacaste Conservation Area that, at the time, supposedly had no registered visitors. It is impossible that the fires were started by natural causes, since the only natural fire starter is lightening, which does not occur during the Guanacaste dry season. Since the fire cannot be natural and there were no registered visitors or campers in the conservation at the time, the unfortunate conclusion is that all evidence points to intentional arson, most likely started by angry poachers that were likely caught in illegal hunting or harvesting of the forest reserve.

Minae and its workers have been unable to surprise the arsonists in the act. However, in the dry heat and strong winds of a Guanacaste summer, all that is needed is to place a bit of candle in cow excrement and a fire will slowly grow. Once the fire has strengthened, it will spread rapidly and fiercely, consuming everything around it. Experts believe that the arsonists started the wildfires as a distraction tactic, sneaking out of the area as the fires blazed.

Due to the number of recent fires, Guanacaste Conservation Area workers have had to intensify security. They hope that their increased efforts will prevent more wildfires, especially since the arid, windy Guanacaste landscape is so conducive to building and maintaining horrible, destructive infernos.

However, not all news is bad: According to Minae, despite recent events, there have been fewer forest fires this year than in the same period in 2007. As of this week, 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) have burned in 23 forest fires reported this period, 21 of which were in protected areas and the two on private farms. In 2007, 72 fires were reported, 37 in conservation areas and 35 on private property. Though still not ideal, Minae’s efforts are clearly showing progress.

This post's rating:

Related Stories

Filed under: Costa Rica News on April 4th, 2008