An estimated 80 wildfires have ravaged the country since January, with blazes approaching populous Santiago de Cuba.
Huge wildfires continue to rage across the island nation of Cuba, heading toward the province of Santiago de Cuba, home to the country’s second largest city.
On Tuesday, the provincial government announced that a high-intensity fire was being contained near the communities of San Luis and Mella, where 250 citizens banded together in the early hours to contain the blazes.
Since January, officials in Cuba have counted an estimated 80 wildfires across the country, with firefighters, military forces and park rangers struggling to bring the burns under control. More than 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) were consumed across the island, with farms and coffee plants reportedly destroyed in the blazes.
On Monday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel took to Twitter to recognize the “heroic struggle” of those battling the blaze, praising workers on the frontlines in Holguín province, where a pine forest region called Pinares de Mayarí is burning.
“The courage and sacrifice of the firefighters, forest wardens and residents who are facing the fires that are engulfing the beautiful and precious forests of the eastern region in Pinares de Mayarí is magnificent,” wrote Díaz-Canel.
Officials in Cuba warn of long-term economic impact as wildfires progress across the country [File: Juan Pablo Carreras/Reuters]State television officials said the fires spread over “a wide area, not just one focal point.” The provinces most affected include Pinar del Río and Artemisa in the west, and Camagüey and Holguín in the east.
The fires had previously threatened Cuba’s Mensura-Piloto National Park, a 6,046-hectare (14,940-acre) sensitive ecological region known for its forested mountains and cascading waterfalls.
Cuba’s mountainous terrain and persistent drought have hampered efforts to put out the blazes, and officials warn the country could take years to recover from the devastation.
The country is in the midst of its worst economic crisis in decades, with the COVID-19 pandemic leading to a precipitous decline in its tourism industry, one of its key economic drivers. In 2020 alone, Cuba’s economy shrank by 11 percent, the sharpest contraction since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Under former President Donald Trump, the United States has also waged a “maximum pressure” campaign on Cuba, tightening sanctions and reversing policies drafted under his predecessor Barack Obama to ease tensions between the two countries.
Cuba’s struggling economy has fueled one of the largest migration crises in the country’s history, as well as food shortages and other basic needs.
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