Forest Fires: Biobío to Have 518 Kilometers of Firebreaks and Road Cleaning
With the arrival of spring comes the season of rising temperatures, and various institutions are preparing strategies to face the upcoming forest fire season. In this context, in the Biobío Region, the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) has activated a preventive plan, which includes 518 kilometers of clearing strips and firebreaks along the area's road network.
Hugo Cautivo, the Regional Ministerial Secretary of Public Works, explained that the strategy aims to strengthen coordination with the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) and the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf).
Additionally, he detailed that they have increased buffer zones to prevent disasters. "In recent years, we have exceeded more than a thousand kilometers of preventive work, prioritizing critical areas such as the Wood Route, where containment works and removal of trees at risk of falling have also been carried out," explained Cautivo.
Urban-forest risk
Dr. Francisco de la Barrera, an academic from the University of Concepción's Department of Territorial Planning and Urban Systems, points out the danger of urban-forest interface areas due to the accumulated fuel load and indicated that "this carries a risk associated with fires because one coming from the forest area will have a lot of energy."
The academic emphasizes that Concepción has an extensive contact zone, as some of these plantations are active and have permanent forest management. Additionally, there are others that are abandoned. Likewise, there are spaces within the metropolitan area that "always require attention and management," added de la Barrera.
Organized neighbors
In sectors bordering forested areas, there are various experiences of preparation for the fire season.
In Chaimávida, the president of the Neighborhood Council, Yesenia Reyes, specified that, thanks to the good relationship and their own initiatives with the involved entities, there are firebreaks in place. Similarly, in that area, according to the community leader, they have a rural brigade and strive to keep the area clean.
Interface zones in Greater Concepción
In Nonguén, residents are concerned about the proximity of the hill, as in past years forest fires have come close to homes.
Unlike other sections, they have a document as an evacuation guide that establishes priority points for protection.
In fact, the Municipality of Concepción has already taken steps to identify the most critical points, such as the El Peumo slope. This was stated by Fabián Vega, president of the Valle Nonguén neighborhood council.
More complex contact zones
In contrast, in Valle La Piedra Chiguayante, prevention is something the community is waiting for, as stated by María Contreras, president of the San Marcos sector neighborhood council, who affirmed that "we are not neighbors of the forestry companies (...) we don't have anyone to help us clean, and no one takes responsibility."
Furthermore, Contreras added that most of the property owners are elderly, which makes the task of cleaning more difficult, as it requires hiring labor.
The section is complex, as it involves coordinating with various entities, since the most critical properties border private or municipal areas. Contreras exemplified that "a private individual had to pay $180,000 to have the hill cleared (...) the hill doesn't belong to him, it's the municipality's, and he paid to prevent his house from burning."
Plan underway
From the Municipality of Chiguayante, Sixto Bustamante, Head of Emergencies of the Public Safety Directorate, assured that "firebreak work will begin at the end of October by the municipality in those points where it administers the land, while Arauco carries it out in the interface zone of its properties."
In turn, the municipality's emergency officer added that preventive patrols will begin during November.
Source:Diario Concepción
