From January to present, Guyana has encountered 1285 wildfires across the country.
Of that amount, 1000 occurred in communities located in Region Five (Mahaica- Berbice) and Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The regions with the lowest numbers of fires are Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruzi), which both recorded less than 200 fires.
Joint Service groups comprising officers from the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and staff from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Guyana Forestry Commission, are working across the country to diligently mitigate wildfires that are threatening.
In fact, yesterday, officials spent hours battling blazes at Perseverance/Providence and Sand Hill area. Teams were also dispatched to Houston where a grass fire was raging.
Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn this morning visited a location at Mocha, near Barnwell North by the East Demerara Conservancy Dam, where the source of fire causing a blanket of smoke affecting the Perseverance/Providence area and surrounding communities, was last evening identified.
In an interview with this publication, Fire Prevention Officer Sheldon Sauns disclosed that the teams are utilising satellite imaginary surveillance to monitor fires countrywide, while land and air techniques are being used to prevent fires from escalating.
According to Sauns, resources are stretched thin, however, efforts are ongoing to procure advance firefighting equipment specifically tailored to combat wildfires.
“In responding to the multiplexity of reports relating to wildfires and this is coming from the different regions, it is somewhat challenging, however the Guyana Fire Service along with the different stakeholders on board, we are giving it our utmost to mitigate the situation with the intention of eliminating it completely,” he expressed.
The Fire Service is urging citizens to avoid deliberately setting fires to either burn garbage or for land clearing, noting that such acts are punishable by law.
The current dry spell is projected to last at least until the end of April 2024.
