Wildfire Burns 200 Hectares in Ecuador’s Los Illinizas Reserve

A wildfire has consumed about 200 hectares of páramo in Ecuador’s Los Illinizas Ecological Reserve, according to the latest preliminary report from authorities.

The fire was reported at 10:23 p.m. on Sept. 1 in the El Chaupi sector of Mejía canton, in Pichincha province. ECU 911’s Zone 2-9 coordination office mobilized the Mejía Fire Department and arranged support from other institutions after receiving the alert.

Firefighters from Mejía, Latacunga and Cayambe are taking part in the response, alongside the Mejía municipal government and community brigades. The National Risk Management Secretariat, Aglomerados Cotopaxi, the Ecuadorian Red Cross, the armed forces and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition have also joined the operation.

Teams are deployed at several points in the area while they carry out suppression, containment and extinguishing work. The objective is to prevent the flames from spreading and causing further damage to the reserve’s ecosystem.

The reported 200 hectares remain a preliminary figure while control efforts continue. The reserve covers nearly 149,900 hectares across western Cotopaxi and the southern parts of Pichincha and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. It includes the western slopes of the Illiniza North and South peaks and the Quilotoa and El Corazón volcanoes.