Fires increase in El Salvador in 2024

Fires in El Salvador increased by 25 percent in 2024 with a high incidence in dry undergrowth, firefighters reported.

 
Firefighters Director Baltazar Solano showed figures that denote that the increase is serious. To date, there have been 1,553 fires, compared to 1,243 in 2023, 310 more incidents so far this year.

It is striking that most of the fires were in dry undergrowth, which is indicative of the effects of drought in the country and climate change, Solano said.

Of all 1,553 emergencies reported in 2024, 1,060, or 68 percent, occurred in dry undergrowth, followed by 74 forest fires.

The executive said that the burning of vegetation and dry undergrowth triggers secondary effects such as environmental contamination, soil erosion, loss of soil layer, as well as damage to the ecosystem, which can lead to drought.

Solano noted that the wind is not to blame and that fires are usually caused by human action, either accidental or premeditated.