Ecuador considers national fire emergency as drought conditions persist; Cuenca woman arrested for arson

As fires raged throughout the country, President Daniel Noboa cut short his attendance at the United Nations Wednesday to return to Ecuador. “Given the circumstances, my priority is to command all efforts in the face of the new enemy,” he said, referring to fires in Quito and elsewhere.

A Cuenca firefighter extinguishes a blaze near Sinincay.

Noboa attended a Wednesday night meeting of the national Emergency Operations Committee, which is considering an emergency declaration to confront the fire danger. The COE said a decision would be made this weekend.

In Quito, fire crews on Thursday continued to battle the remains of the Guápulo fire, which injured 20 and destroyed or damaged 80 homes and businesses. As of Thursday night, the Quito fire command said that in addition to Guápulo, firefighters were on the scene at nine fires, most of them in the southern sectors of the city.

Police continue their investigation into possible arson at Guápulo, while the man arrested claims it was a backyard trash fire that went out of control.

The COE reports that fires affected 13 of Ecuador’s 24 provinces on Thursday, including large blazes in Guayas, Pichincha, Imbabura, Cotopaxi, Azuay and Loja Provinces. “Drought conditions are the primary factor in most of the fires,” the COE said in a statement. “Some of the fires are acts of arson, which we will prosecute as terrorist crimes.”

In Cuenca and Azuay Province, firefighters battled at least 11 fires Thursday, the largest in Molleturo, Baños, Sinincay, Barabón, Llacao and San Juan Pamba. Several fires were put out in residential neighborhoods, including one near the intersection of Calles Del Molino and La Espadaña.

Outside of Cuenca, a large fire remained active at midnight near the Europa bridge in Paute. The Paute fire command said the steep terrain made fighting the blaze “almost impossible”.

Police believe several of the Cuenca fires were acts of arson. A woman was arrested for setting a brush fire Tuesday in the Los Cerezos neighborhood of northwest Cuenca. The act was recorded by a nearby security camera, which also captured a clear view of her car license plate. The fire burned less than a hectare and was quickly extinguished by firefighters.