In response to the surge in wildfires in Medellin, Colombia, emergency services in the city are stepping up their efforts. In 2023 alone, there have been 97 fires, a near 400% increase compared to 2022. Over the past few hours, emergency services have responded to five more incidents.
To combat the crisis, the City Hall of Medellin has announced the launch of a contingency plan. The plan includes contracted helicopter flight hours equipped with a ‘bambi bucket’ system — a special basket that can collect between 270 and 600 gallons of water to douse the flames. Each helicopter water drop can save between three and five hours of ground-based firefighter efforts. The plan also calls for drone flyovers in sensitive wildfire areas to enable thermal camera monitoring.
Moreover, the initiative will coordinate real-time information from the Siata project to make decisions to protect the lives of citizens and conserve vegetation.
“The District is starting a contingency plan to strengthen the response to these events. In recent weeks, we have seen how the El Niño phenomenon has consolidated, which, according to Ideam reports, is expected to be moderate at 60%,” said Laura Duarte, Director of Dagrd. Duarte also noted that the plan includes the coordination and preparedness of organizations such as the Army, the Air Force, the Police, the Civil Defense, the Red Cross, and the Metropolitan Area Firefighters. Additionally, Dagrd will raise community awareness about risk knowledge. Any incidents should be reported to the 123 Emergency Hotline.
This year, 97 wildfires have been attended to in Medellin, with recent ones in sectors such as Villa Hermosa, La Honda, El Picacho, Las Tinajas, and Moravia.
In the first two locations, the Colombian Air Force provided assistance, conducting nine flights that dropped a total of 4,000 gallons of water.