Bolivia seeks aid in fighting wildfires

LA PAZ, Bolivia, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Bolivia is asking for international assistance, acknowledging wildfires in its Amazon region are out of control and threaten an environmental disaster.

An estimated 3.7 million acres of forest and tropical savanna have been consumed by fires authorities say were deliberately set, The Irish Times reported Thursday.

Smoke has caused the cancellation of flights in several cities in the affected lowland regions, officials said.

"For me it is a total disaster; it is an environmental disaster. We have six forest fires which have a height of 50 meters (160 feet) and are growing, and as a country we do not have the capacity to put them out," Weimar Becerra, the head of the country's forestry service, said.

The fires were started by peasant farmers clearing land during the dry season for farming. High winds and dry conditions are being blamed for this year's burning season getting out of control.

The deliberate setting of fires to clear land for farming is a long-established tradition in the Amazonian regions of several South American countries, the newspaper said.

Bolivia has asked Brazil to help combat the fires in Pando and Beni, and for Argentina to help with containing blazes in Santa Cruz, where the local government has declared a state of emergency, Becerra said.