A week after the start of the fires that affect vast areas of Patagonia, the president Javier Milei He shared an image generated with artificial intelligence in which he is seen shaking hands with a forest brigade with the incendiary light controlled. In a story on his Instagram account, the libertarian president republished an AI-designed portrait of user Macarena Jimena with the message “Thank you to everyone who worked. Nothing is more heroic than risking your life to save others.”
The symbolic gesture immediately contrasted with the real situation faced by those fighting the fire in the territory. Brigade members from different regions have been denouncing salary arrears with salaries reaching 840 thousand pesos, lack of basic resources, job insecurity and a marked deterioration in operating conditions, within the framework of the adjustment applied to the National Fire Management Service.
Even during the last year, the organization suffered a significant cut in its budget, which directly impacted the availability of equipment, logistics and personnel. Despite this, rescue teams continue to be deployed in high-risk areas, exposing their physical integrity to contain the advance of the fires.
The main focus was detected on January 5 in the province of Chubutnear towns like Puerto Patriada, El Hoyo and Epuyénand in a few days the flames spread through bushes, established and native forests, affecting a landscape that combines protected areas and rural areas. Official figures estimated at more than 13,700 hectares that have been consumed by forest fires in different Patagonian areas, while other sectors remain active despite the efforts of hundreds of brigade members and firefighters deployed in the region.
The cause of the main focus is not yet confirmedalthough provincial and national investigations have pointed out the possibility that several of these fires have been caused by intentional or negligent human actionso rewards were offered for information that would identify those responsible. In addition to this hypothesis, environmental and organizational experts warned that the drought, high temperatures and strong winds increase the risk of spread, a phenomenon that has become a recurring problem in the region.
Although the most critical situation is concentrated in Chubut, other outbreaks have been reported in national parks and neighboring provinces. For example, in the Los Alerces National Park and areas near Santa Cruz there are active fires, and reports of proximity of fires in sectors of Río Negro and Neuquén They point out that several areas of Andean-Patagonic forests have also been impacted in the current high fire season. Thousands of residents and tourists had to be evacuated from risk areasand the dense smoke affected the air quality in towns near the burning areas.
The combination of rugged terrain, adverse weather conditions and delays in the arrival of resources made containment work difficult on several fronts, although isolated rains in recent days have helped to partially stabilize some outbreaks. While emergency teams continue to fight active fires and consolidate control lines, authorities and experts emphasize that the risk of outbreaks persists. The situation has also generated a debate on the management of resources and security policies. fire prevention and managementwith criticism of the lack of investment in prevention campaigns and calls to strengthen the response capacity to future similar events.
Image gallery
