Short circuit sparks massive forest fire at Chuzom


Short circuit sparks massive forest fire at Chuzom 

16 February 2016

published by www.kuenselonline.com


Bhutan–  A forest fire that began at Chuzom was burning uncontrollably towards Paro and Thimphu as of last night.

The smoke from the fire even covered Thimphu city for a few hours.

More than a thousand acres have already been destroyed.

Firefighters included personnel of the army, police, and forest department who battled the fire that began at around 2pm until nightfall, when efforts had to be suspended.

The fire was caused by an electric shot circuit on a transmission line located on the hill opposite the chuzom check post.

While immediate containment attempts were made by both police and forest personnel based at the Chuzum check post, strong winds fanned the fire and lead to its rapid spread.

Police officials said that the nearest village of Kharekphu was safe and out of danger.

A forest department official said that firefighting efforts would resume at daybreak. One team will attack the fire from Paro while two teams will advance from the Thimphu side.

The forest official said that no villages were in danger as of yesterday.

The government’s helicopter attempted to join the fight but could not given strong winds.

RBHS CEO Chhewang Gyeltshen said that the helicopter returned after its first attempt because the valley was found to be too narrow and many unmarked wires were also in the area.

He said that the helicopter will be dispatched to fight the fire today if required.

This is the fifth forest fire to occur in the last four days.
 Según el Departamento Nacional de Planeación (DNP), las quemas de vegetación le costaron a Colombia $476 millones el año pasado. “La suma de las pérdidas anuales de servicios ecosistémicos es de cerca de $2,9 billones de pesos, que equivale a una pérdida anual aproximada de $323 mil millones, equivalente a 0,04% del PIB”, añadió el Director. Las zonas más afectadas son Magdalena, Cundinamarca, Huila, Boyacá y Casanare. Además de esto, Gaviria esta pérdida se extendería para los próximos años, pues la recuperación de los bosques y los ecosistemas podría tardar al rededor de 30 años. Por eso, el director del DNP hizo una llamado a proteger los bosques y explicó que no son “mero paisajismo”, pues ayudan a regular el agua y los sedimentos, y a capturar el carbono. Un informe del Departamento Nacional de Planeación reunió las cifras que en pesos dejaron los incendios forestales en todo el país. Estas acciones han evitado que los efectos del fenómeno de El Niño tanto en incendios forestales como en disminución la oferta hídrica del país fuera más altos considerando la gravedad del fenómeno. Pasion Noticias http://pasionsports.com/2016/02/incendios-por-fen-meno-de-el-ni-o-costaron-476-mil-millones/


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