Overview
- The fires surged in the first week of October and have left six confirmed dead, with five fatalities reported in Cusco and one in Puno.
- Cusco has suffered the heaviest damage in 2026 with roughly 16,000 hectares of vegetation lost and multiple active fronts across several districts.
- Authorities report active fires in at least five regions—Cusco, Apurímac, Ayacucho, Junín and Puno—threatening pastures, native forest, homes and livestock.
- Response teams are using ground crews, local brigades and Air Force water drops while Serfor has launched a program to train more than 400 local brigadistas this month to bolster capacity.
- Officials and experts blame routine agricultural burning plus El Niño‑linked dry conditions and high winds for rapid fire spread, and they warn that limited equipment, hard access and temporary redeployment of security forces have hampered suppression and raised risks for rural communities.