Overview
- During the first week of October, officials confirmed six deaths from wildfires—five in Cusco and one in Puno—and multiple active blazes continue to burn in Cusco, Apurímac, Ayacucho, Junín and Puno.
- Cusco is the hardest hit, with regional authorities reporting roughly 280 incidents so far this year and about 16,000 hectares burned while six active fronts and reactivated hotspots persist.
- Fire managers say some fronts are moving unusually fast, an estimated 15–20 km/h, which has forced temporary retreats, complicated containment and prompted calls from local leaders for immediate aerial water drops and more brigadistas.
- The blazes have destroyed homes, killed livestock and damaged pastures and protected sites, leaving dozens of families homeless, threatening food supplies for rural and indigenous communities and damaging archaeological areas.
- Longer fire seasons, rising temperatures and an El Niño signal combine with common agricultural burning and high exposure of people and homes to create widespread vulnerability, and authorities warn the national multisector plan on fires must be rapidly put into practice to prevent further losses.