Peruvian authorities say firefighters have managed to control a forest fire near the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu after three days fighting the flames.
The fire near one of the world’s most famous archeological sites erupted on Tuesday, destroying about 100 acres of land, the equivalent of about 50 football fields.
The fire, which Peru’s culture ministry said engulfed a remote area about six kilometers from the spectacular high-altitude citadel, was caused by farmers who had been clearing land to cultivate.
“We have been fighting the forest fire for two days now and it has not been possible to control it, as the area is quite inaccessible,” Roberto Abarca, director of the office of risk management and security, told Reuters on Thursday. Cusco.
But on Thursday night Peruvian authorities announced that dozens of firefighters and police had tamed 90% of the fire. They claimed that Machu Picchu himself had not been affected.
“It simply came to our notice then [the fire]”Said the mayor of Machupicchu district, Darwin Baca León, to the Peruvian station RPP. The mayor admitted firefighters were still working to control some smaller outbreaks in the mountains that remained “active.”
The fire comes as the South American tourist destination tries to recover from the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which claimed the lives of more than 200,000 Peruvians.
Peru’s tourism industry and Machu Picchu closed in early 2020 when Covid swept the world, claiming millions of lives and wreaking havoc on economies.
On Thursday, Peru’s culture ministry insisted that tourist activities in Machu Picchu had not been affected by this week’s fire, while no lives were reported to have been lost.
Machu Picchu became world famous about a century ago after an American scholar and explorer announced the “discovery” of a “city lost in the clouds.”
Hiram Bingham, writing in the New York Times, said the impressive stonework and abundance of stone dwellings made him suspect that the Andean city “could turn out to be the largest and most important ruin discovered in South America.” from the days of the Spanish conquest “.
Bingham offered the name “Machu Picchu” for the area he had rediscovered and drew worldwide attention. However, a recent academic article questioned whether this was really the right one.
Its authors said that the UNESCO World Heritage Site had been known as Huayna Picchu, after a mountain top above the ruins, or simply Picchu.