Severe blaze extinguished in Chirripó National Park, but forest fire still rages in surrounding area

Firefighters have extinguished a severe forest fire in Chirripó National Park in Costa Rica’s southeastern region. The fire burned through a total of eight hectares of the park, and is still raging in the mountains surrounding the park.

As of Tuesday, 92 hectares of primary forest in the nearby Río Macho Forest Reserve had been affected, and 58 firefighters on the ground continued putting out flames.

According to officials from the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC), the fire started on April 1 in Talamanca, near the Caribbean coast. Though what caused the fire has not been confirmed, SINAC officials suspect an illegal logging operation — possibly related to marijuana cultivation — is to blame.

“Right now we are working on putting out the only fire left inside Río Macho Forest Reserve,” said Ronald Chan, regional director for the La Amistad Pacific Conservation Area. “Right now we are monitoring it closely in hopes of not reactivating fires that we have already put out.”