Wildfire in Central Colombia Menaces Historic Villa de Leyva

Authorities are battling the blaze as record heat and severe drought linked to El Niño increase wildfire risks across Colombia.

A major wildfire in central Colombia is threatening Villa de Leyva, a popular tourist destination, local officials have reported.

The blaze is burning near the Andean town in the Boyacá department, with flames sweeping across the San Marcos hillside above the colonial buildings and cobblestone streets that draw more than one million visitors each year.

Colombian authorities said the fire has consumed 40 hectares of native forest and produced large smoke plumes visible from the town’s central square.

On Saturday night, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella posted on X that “Villa de Leyva is not alone,” promising to mobilise all available state resources to combat the fire and protect “this historical jewel” and “beautiful city that is the pride of Colombia.”

The Boyacá departmental government said it is deploying two aircraft to help fight the flames. A military helicopter and firefighters from Bogotá will also join the operation, Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara said.

Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán is sending a firefighting team to support local crews from Tunja and Boyacá, strengthening containment efforts and helping protect the urban centre, Lara added.

Forest fires are most common during the dry season in Colombia’s equatorial Andes, but this year’s outbreak is being driven by a severe El Niño weather pattern. Record temperatures and little rainfall have dried vast areas of Andean vegetation, intensifying a national wildfire crisis that has left 18 fires active across the country, according to Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, or UNGRD.

El Niño is a natural climate pattern with effects felt worldwide, although its impacts vary by region, bringing extreme drought to some areas and heavy flooding to others. This year, the phenomenon is unfolding against the backdrop of human-driven climate change, raising concerns among scientists, governments and aid organisations.

Warmer waters in the nearby Pacific Ocean have also triggered catastrophic flash floods and landslides in countries including Peru and Ecuador.

While parts of southern South America, including Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, are bracing for unusually heavy rainfall, northern regions are experiencing the opposite effect. Sharply reduced precipitation can limit cloud formation and disrupt normal rainfall patterns, pushing average temperatures well above seasonal levels.

The intense heat is rapidly drawing moisture from soils and water basins, leaving countries such as Colombia facing prolonged drought and critically low rainfall.

“El Niño can bring devastating climate extremes on its own, but it’s unfolding today on a much warmer planet, increasing the likelihood that heat, drought, floods and fires will push communities and ecosystems beyond anything they have experienced before,” said Stephanie Roe, lead climate scientist with the World Wildlife Fund.

Source link