The Government of San Luis maintained a large-scale operation this Friday to combat the forest fire that began during the early morning of Thursday in Estancia Grande. After several hours of uninterrupted work, emergency teams managed to contain most of the outbreaks and prevented the fire from reaching areas where homes were at risk, a situation that allowed residents to be protected and reduced the risk in the most compromised sectors.
Security Minister Nancy Sosa, Emergency Prevention and Management Director Gustavo Albornoz, and Mayor Diego Zeballos provided a report on the status of the operation. Albornoz explained that the outlook became more favorable after the intense night work and confirmed that three water-dropping aircraft began operating from San Luis Airport to attack the outbreaks that remained active in the mountain ridge. He also specified that the teams also concentrated efforts in Potrero de los Funes, where the fire advanced driven by the wind.
For his part, Zeballos highlighted the joint work between provincial and municipal agencies and confirmed that no injuries were reported. He also noted that some families evacuated their homes as a precaution, although they later returned to their homes. Regarding possible material damage, he indicated that the definitive survey began at daylight to determine if any property was affected.
Minister Nancy Sosa reported that judicial proceedings have already begun to establish the starting point of the fire and stated that there are no doubts about the intentionality of the event. She also expressed her hope that weather conditions favor the work of the deployed teams and thanked the efforts of Volunteer Firefighters, brigades, police personnel, municipalities, and provincial agencies that participated in the operation.
Before starting the water drops, the aircraft pilots conducted a reconnaissance of the area to plan the interventions. The first official reports indicated that several outbreaks decreased considerably in intensity, although authorities maintained surveillance and combat tasks on the sectors that still registered activity to prevent new advances of the fire.
