María López is afraid of losing everything. She says this because behind her there is a huge forest fire going down the mountain where she lives, in the municipality of Nemocón, in Cundinamarca, which has destroyed 180 hectares of forest. The flames are just meters from his home and the scene is apocalyptic. Hundreds of pine trees just behind his modest home seem to be smoking. They have been filling the sky with countless thick columns of smoke for more than 24 hours. Suddenly a tree catches fire. Goes from dark green to bright orange in an instant. The sound of burning attracts everyone's attention. It's not just the house where López lives with her husband and 21-year-old son that is in danger: the entire hill is in danger.
María López rests after working for several hours to extinguish the forest fire that threatens to reach her home in the municipality of Nemocón (Cundinamarca), on January 24, 2024.CHELO CAMACHO
The 41-year-old doesn't have time to think about it. Run everywhere. He wears a long-sleeved shirt, sky blue hat, face mask and waterproof boots. She's carrying a machete in one hand and connecting hoses to the other as someone gets closer to the flames and shouts “Water!” and she replies, “Isn't that enough?” No, it's not enough. In Nemocón, a town of 16,000 people about 60 kilometers north of Bogotá known for its centuries-old salt mines, nothing seems to be enough this Wednesday.
The community does not have a fire department. That's why employees from almost all surrounding communities came to help. According to a spokeswoman for the Cundinamarca firefighters, the Tenjo firefighters, the Zipaquirá Civil Defense and the National Police, among others, total 120 experts. In the department where Nemocón is located, there were 13 fires this Wednesday alone. The only one left uncontrolled is this one.
There are dozens of people who cannot contain the fire. It's too big and the four spotlights are too many. That's why López and his neighbors are working tirelessly alongside the professionals for now. “It's terrible. “We're terrified,” the woman admits, taking a sip of water. “I hope I can save my kittens,” he adds.
A member of the Guardia Civil sets up a “defense line” to stop the spread of flames.CHELO CAMACHO
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About 30 meters higher, on the mountain, a dozen civilians are working without the help of rescue workers. The hoses don't reach here. The group uses machetes to try to put out the fire, one of the strongest among the 21 that officially devastated Colombia this Wednesday. Dressed in work boots, gardening gloves and every clothing imaginable, they immerse themselves in flames and smoke. They strike the ground with their blades every time a spark appears, attempting to clear all flammable vegetation from the area.
“Should we cut all these plants, my little boy?” asks a girl of about 25 who is not wearing a mask.
“Yes, so that the fire doesn’t go out any further,” replies a muscular boy.
Suddenly the wind increases. A pine tree fully lights up and makes an intimidating sound. “Get out of there!” several voices shout at the same time and the neighbors run out of the forest. Moments later, a handful of firefighters arrive to complete the same task. Luckily, they have equipment that can withstand the flames. One carries a backpack full of water with a small hose attached. Another begins cutting through vegetation with a chainsaw. Despite their efforts, the earth keeps catching fire; He doesn't want to pay attention. “We have to keep going until it stops working,” they explain.
A community member tries to stop the spread of fire with a machete.CHELO CAMACHO
Smoke takes over Nemocón
About three kilometers higher, in the hills, the landscape ranges from apocalyptic to the scenery of a zombie film. The land is completely bare. There is no vegetation, just smoke. Smoke as far as the eye can see. It comes out of the earth as if it were a volcano. It fills the sky and makes it seem almost like night when it's two o'clock in the afternoon on a sunny, very sunny day.
Three members of the Zipaquirá Civil Defense cross the scorched earth in a truck. From time to time they stop to measure wind speed, humidity and ambient temperature: 32.1 degrees. Fernando Venegas, one of them, explains why it was so difficult to put out this fire. “It is steep because the mountain is very steep and therefore it is very difficult to climb the water. At any moment it gets out of control,” he explains. A colleague of his later said that the fire was theoretically caused by a spark coming from a power cable. “They found a burnt transformer,” he says.
Members of the Colombian Civil Guard measure wind speed, humidity and temperature at the top of the mountain. CELLO CAMACHO
After about ten more minutes of driving, they meet a dozen rescuers. They decide to get out of the truck and take a break. A worker hands out tamales, sandwiches and bottles of water to everyone. You start eating with pleasure. They say they have been in the forest since early morning, and their faces, stained with ash and fatigue, confirm it. This is the biggest fire in Nemocón in the last 10 years, emphasizes a firefighter between bites of tamale. “The wind suddenly changes and we're all stuck here,” he explains, without realizing how frightening what he just said is. “We are doing everything we can, but we need more helicopters,” he added. Everyone agrees.
This also applies to Mayor Cristian Carrillo. “We need air support, this is the only way we can deal with the situation. If we cannot count on it, we will hardly be able to achieve it,” he said on W Radio that same afternoon, hours before the national government sent Vice Minister for Environmental Planning Tatiana Roa to accompany the effort.
“Everything has already burned”
At the foot of the mountain, at the unified command post (PMU) set up by the mayor's office in the village of La Puerta, the commander of the Zipaquirá firefighters, Liseth Sánchez, explains that only one police helicopter has arrived. He said he was on the move for most of the afternoon, but the capabilities of a single helicopter are limited. Rescuers have poured more than 50,000 gallons of water into the hills since the fire broke out around midday Tuesday, he said. Still, it seems to be expanding. The smoke is occupying an ever larger part of the sky of Cundinamarca, where farmers expect two helicopters to appear this Thursday, one for the department's firefighters and one for the army, as announced by Governor Jorge Rey.
Forest consumed by fire.CHELO CAMACHO
Rodrigo Castillo sits surrounded by police, firefighters and volunteers who arrive with water and food. He is a 69-year-old man, dressed in a beret, a blue checkered shirt and with an expression of utter defeat. He explains that the PMU is located on the Santa Cruz farm, which has 90 hectares of industrial timber. “I'm the owner. Well, he was the owner. “Everything was already on fire,” he says, remembering that the fire started after “the people from the power station” left. He stands up, puts his hands in his pockets and looks around. In the distance, another tree on the top of the mountain catches fire.
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