✅ Controlado incendio forestal en Perú que consumió 120 hectáreas cerca de Machu Picchu.

Peruvian firefighters controlled a forest fire on Friday that burned about 120 hectares of forest in an area located in the Cusco region and just 17 kilometers from the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, the gem of Peruvian tourism, authorities reported.

Jessica Morón, responsible for fire control in the Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary, told the state news agency Andina that the fire had been controlled but that there are still two hotspots in rugged areas that are being monitored to prevent the fire from spreading again.

The fire started on Tuesday and occurred in a village called Ccollpani, which belongs to the buffer zone surrounding the Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary, within which the Inca stone citadel is located, the most visited place in Peru by international tourists.

The Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary has more than 38,000 hectares and its buffer zone covers another 230,000 hectares, according to data from the Ministry of Culture. The official said it is the third forest fire within the buffer zone and that the fire burned grasslands, as well as yucca, plantain, and coffee plantations.

Authorities still do not know the cause of the fire, but they recognize that there is a widespread practice among farmers of burning grass to prepare the land before planting again. In several cases, the fire gets out of control and causes wildfires.

On Wednesday, another forest fire in the Apurímac region left five dead, 10 seriously injured, and more than 200 hectares affected.

Forest fires have increased in the last two decades in the Peruvian Andes, according to authorities. According to official data, around 1,800 fires occurred in 2020, mostly in southern Peru, in regions including Cusco and Apurímac.