A new fire affected Bosque Panul
Last Sunday January 22, nearly 2 hectares were consumed by the flames — which could have been far more were it not for the swift response of the Brigada de Emergencias Alto Florida, the residents, and the park's users. Once again, the cause was an uncontrolled bonfire.
Around midday the fire truck sirens began sounding through the streets of La Florida; minutes earlier social media had already given early warning of a column of smoke rising from the precordillera. A new fire had broken out in Bosque Panul less than 3 months after the last outbreak in the same place, adding to the great tragedy facing Chile, where fires have been occurring practically every day throughout the month in the center and south of the country.
The Brigada de Emergencias Alto Florida was, once again, the first to respond to a fire that was more intense than the previous one — but they managed to contain it. As has now become routine, the community of the park and the neighbors were already prepared to defend the forest; this time, better organized, they managed to bring in a pickup truck with a water tank to extinguish the most difficult points. By around 6:00 pm the fire was fully controlled and being doused by firefighters who were extinguishing the last glowing embers with their hoses.
The fire covered an area of 1.92 hectares, primarily affecting Fundo Zavala. It is worth noting that, once again, large quantities of "party" waste were found — bottles and cans of alcohol — at the point of origin of the fire: a poorly extinguished bonfire.
This is the fourth major fire that Bosque Panul has suffered in the last 10 years. Let us recall that in 2012, 35.9 hectares were consumed in 2 consecutive fires that affected precisely the area of the real estate project at Fundo Panul and were declared intentional based on the fire service's forensic assessment.
Whether due to real estate ambition or the ignorant carelessness of those who do not use the park consciously, Bosque Panul could avoid these fires if the authorities would step up and protect it concretely by declaring the entire forest a Public Park.
Meanwhile, the community remains vigilant in caring for the forest, with autonomous brigades and community organization, doing the work that the State has been unwilling to do. Every person in the forest has a responsibility to protect it — by taking all their rubbish with them and remembering that bonfires are prohibited to prevent this from happening again.
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