After several days of investigations, illegal artisanal mining was pointed out as the cause of the forest fire that on April 17 was detected in the vicinity of the Yarey River, in the Ojito de Agua Conservation Department, of the Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, World Heritage.
The Master of Science Raúl González Rodríguez, Head of the Fire Management Department of the Cuban Ranger Corps, belonging to the Ministry of the Interior, reported on national television that such conclusions are based on recent traces of human activity found in the area. where the fire started.
He specified that, a few meters from the river, they found a rustic shelter, cans with food remains, stone samples, people's footprints, earth movements, as well as artisanal strands that will have been used as a source of light and heat, the which they associated with stealth mining for the extraction of gold.
The fire, sources from Guardabosques and Citma in the province had said, would have found favorable conditions to spread, in the scarcity of rain and high temperatures, the characteristics of the pine forests, the presence of light and moderate winds and sufficient material load fuel, about 45 tons per hectare.
At this point, experts from both institutions are still assessing the environmental damage in the 1,896 hectares that covered the flames of the incident, the largest reported in the Park, the largest natural reserve in the country, considered a paradise of endemism and biodiversity.
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