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Multiple Wildfires Destroy Native Pastures in Southern Peru

Drought and routine agricultural burns have raised fire risk, prompting local brigades to fight flames while regional teams begin formal damage assessments.

Overview

  • Two active fires in Arequipa — one in Sogay (Yarabamba) and another in Pinchollo (Cabanaconde) — are burning native grasslands while local brigades, municipal serenazgo and community members use cisterns and ground crews to contain them.
  • Authorities say there are no reported deaths or smoke-related injuries in the Arequipa incidents and COER Arequipa continues to monitor fire behavior from regional operations centers.
  • COER and municipal risk offices have started peritajes in the field to complete EDAN forms, the Evaluación de Daños y Análisis de Necesidades used to quantify losses and request further support.
  • Cusco officials have declared 'alerta máxima' after roughly ten recent fires, and firefighters report that steep, hard-to-access terrain is complicating suppression efforts, regional brigades said.
  • The Instituto Geofísico and Senamhi link the spike in fires to prolonged drought and common on-farm burning, and Senamhi warns of very-high fire risk in parts of Cajamarca; officials warn that pasture loss threatens rural livelihoods and will guide possible regional aid requests.