This isn't supposed to be just a 'natural disaster' blog BUT I can't resist recording my impressions of the fires burning between Cusco and Macchu Pichu. This week I traveled through the area by train both going to and (2 days later) returning from Macchu Pichu. The first time the burnt area was small, and we were uncertain as to whether it could be a controlled burn-off similar to those in Australia, but coming back it was much more dramatic and menacing: scattered spot fires flared all over the mountains and the valley was filled with smoke. Massive blackened mountainsides loomed on both sides and in places the valley was burnt right up to the train line.
A gale was pushing the fire front along way up on the ridges, while spot fires seemed to be starting lower down where embers had dropped down almost vertical mountainsides.
The terrain is incredibly steep, a narrow, terraced valley surrounded by rugged, steep mountains, and it was hard to see how anyone could hope to bring the fire under control. News reports say 600 fire fighters are out there, and walkers report the firemen are filling Inca Trail campsites, but I'd guess their efforts would be limited to keeping the fire from burning properties. The firefighters I saw had no trucks, and probably very little access to water. They need Elvis, but there was no sign of him either...The fire was almost certainly started by a local farmer clearing his fields by burning off, a common practice, but also one discouraged by large signs posted in the area.
The train pushed through the smoke and I'm now back at work after my break. I trust there will be no more natural disasters to report. Or unnatural. The biggest risks here are not the earthquakes or fires, but the drivers.
2 comments:
Messed up my last comment, so trying again, John.
What kind of trees are burning? Conifers?
There are not many trees on the mountainsides, so what was burning was mainly scrub. It is very dry, with cactuses the most obvious vegetation on the hills. The valleys have many eucalypts grown for firewood. Even where the valleys were burnt these escaped without much damage as the foliage was out of the reach of the flames.
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