A man has been arrested after he was believed to be behind wildfires engulfing a region in Argentina this week.
A 27-year-old who has been detained said that he started a campfire to make coffee and lost control of the flames, according to local media citing prosecutor Jorgelina Gomez.
The fire started in the Argentina’s central Cordoba province on Monday amid a heatwave in the Punilla region.
A total of five active wildfires were in the province, the scene which saw the help of 960 firefighters, eight firefighting planes and two helicopters.
However, wildfires engulfing the region close to Villa Carlos Paz city has meant that dozens of people were evacuated from their homes. Videos circulating on X, previously known as Twitter, depict panick-stricken locals rushing to safety.
Desesperante huida de vecinos de sus viviendas en Carlos Paz por el avance del fuego pic.twitter.com/0OsF11VORc
— EL DIARIO (@diariocarlospaz) October 10, 2023
Other alarming footage depicts fire encroaching on the city and massive flames in hills surrounding populated areas.
Extreme wildfire #Argentina pic.twitter.com/fnKo3doIVO
— Cheap Politics (@CheapPolitiks) October 11, 2023
Temperatures reached 35C as Cordoba’s government and security minister Julian Lopez wrote on social media that “We request that prevention measures be taken to the highest degree, as the weather conditions are adverse.”
Cordoba governor Juan Schiaretti wrote “I call on the population to respect the indications of the firefighters and authorities who are working in the affected areas.”
“The most important thing is to save lives, wherever evacuation is necessary, it will be done.”
The provincial government said it had sent trucks with potable water, food, mattresses and blankets to the affected areas.
The fires have caused some controversy online. Whilst many X users have insisted their cause was climate change, others recall Argentinian government’s national fire management service asserting in 2020 that “A total 95% of forest fires are the result of human intervention.”
