quito, ecuador — Ecuador's government declared a 60-day national emergency due to raging forest fires made worse by severe drought conditions, the country's risk management secretariat announced in a statement Monday.
Declaring a national emergency allows the government to free up funds to tackle the multi-faceted crisis, including wildfires in several provinces.
The South American country faces 17 active wildfires and another five that have been controlled, the secretariat added.
In the most affected provinces, Azuy and Loja, the flames have consumed more than 10,000 hectares.
Eight firefighting helicopters were combating fires, the statement said. That includes at least three that were sent by Peru and Italy.
One of the worst fires was in the Cajas National Park.The South American country has been rationing electricity due to the drought. The emergency decree comes as Ecuador struggles with an energy crisis that has led to power outages of up to 14 hours a day in recent months.
Low water levels due to the drought have caused the reservoirs for the hydroelectric plants — that normally provide for 70% of national demand — to fall to critical levels, leaving the country to face an "unprecedented crisis," according to Ecuador's Energy Minister Ines Manzano.
