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Corma Biobío Assures Resources Are Available and Deployed to Prevent Forest Fires

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• The manager of theAssociation of Forestry Contractors, René Muñoz Klock, told La Tribuna newspaper that one of the precautionary measures has been halting forestry operations when temperatures are extremely high.

The regional manager of theChilean Wood Corporation of Biobío (Corma), Margarita Celis, stated that they are already coordinating with various guilds, communities, and companies in the sector to prevent forest fires during the 2023-2024 season.

The warning takes into account the high temperatures recorded in recent days, which increase the risk of disasters, such as those recorded last summer that destroyed over 430,000 hectares of forests and plantations, claimed 26 lives, destroyed 1,500 homes, and left 7,000 affected in the south-central part of the country.

For this reason, the Corma representative called for strengthening prevention efforts among all societal actors involved in avoiding these disasters.

Celis acknowledged that "indeed, we—the forestry companies—are fully coordinated, available, and working withConaf, to deploy resources and prevention activities across the entire region."

In this context, she strongly urged "strengthening preventive patrols, from the communities, neighborhood associations, municipalities, and organized groups. We cannot afford fires. We cannot expose ourselves to these conditions of high temperatures, wind, and very low humidity."

The Corma manager in the Biobío region urged families in the area to celebrate year-end festivities "with minimal risk exposure," especially in the wildland-urban interface zones.

SNA

In a similar tone, the president of theNational Agriculture Society(SNA), Antonio Walker Prieto, spoke last week, calling for all available measures to prevent fire outbreaks.

Aligning with the forestry sector representative, he urged having methods to stop fire spread if they occur. Among the action lines for farmers who might detect forest fires, the guild leader requested that "when a fire is seen starting, callConaf,Carabineros, or theInvestigative Policeas quickly as possible to prevent fires."

HALTING FORESTRY OPERATIONS

Meanwhile, the manager of theAssociation of Forestry Contractors, René Muñoz Klock, told La Tribuna that one precautionary measure has been suspending forestry operations during extremely high temperatures. "When we talk about high temperatures, we mean above 35 degrees, with low relative humidity and strong winds," the representative explained.

The president of theAgricultural Society of Biobío, José Miguel Stegmeier, also weighed in, stressing the need to increase safety measures to protect silvoagricultural production due to the intentional nature of these disasters.

For this reason, he urged the State to implement measures against potential crimes, including police intelligence programs to support all involved agencies.

Source:www.latribuna.cl