Ecuador battles wildfires near capital as drought grips South America

About 2,000 firefighters, rescue workers and members of the military are fighting blazes around Quito.

Firefighters in Ecuador are working to contain a number of wildfires outside the country’s capital, as several South American nations struggle with the effects of widespread drought and record-setting blazes.

Quito was blanketed in smoke and ash on Wednesday, as some 2,000 firefighters, rescue workers, and members of the military worked to evacuate residents and push back the flames. At least six injuries have been reported so far.

“The fire will not end in the next few hours. It will surely continue into the night,” Mayor Pabel Munoz told reporters, adding that lower nighttime temperatures could help firefighters in their efforts.

Munoz described the situation as “critical” and said two firefighters had been hurt battling the flames.

“Quito is under attack,” city security official Carolina Andrade said, adding that two adults and two children were also among the injured.

Record-setting blazes have broken out in countries across South America, including Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Peru, as the region has been hit by severe drought.

A firefighter working to contain a wildfire in Quito, Ecuador, September 25 [Karen Toro/Reuters]

“I wanted to save something, but we didn’t get anything,” Alexis Condolo, a 23-year-old mechanic whose home burned down, told the AFP news agency.

In a social media post, Quito’s fire department said it was dropping water on the blazes to try to help firefighters working to contain the flames.

The department also urged residents to avoid flying drones, burning trash, and taking any other actions that could start fires or complicate firefighting efforts.

Ecuador is facing its worst drought in more than 60 years, and the wildfires have underscored the heightened vulnerability many nations are experiencing under extreme weather conditions fuelled by climate change.

Earlier this month, Brazil’s space research agency Inpe said it had recorded 346,112 fire hotspots across South America so far this year – the highest number since the data series began in 1998.

In Peru, the government last week declared a state of emergency in several provinces affected by wildfires.

And Brazilian energy authorities announced that they would support the reimposition of daylight savings time as drought threatened the country’s hydroelectric power generation.

A view of a bathroom, which was destroyed during a wildfire, in Quito, Ecuador on September 25 [Karen Toro/Reuters]

Ecuador also has experienced blackouts as the drought strains the country’s energy capacity.

Meanwhile, shipments of grain in Argentina and Brazil have slowed down as river levels drop.

“South American leaders must, more than ever, take urgent action to prevent climate catastrophe that could have irreversible consequences for humanity and for the planet,” Amnesty International said on Monday.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies