Wildfires destroy more than 15,000 hectares in Argentina Patagonia

Buenos Aires, Argentina: Forest fires in Patagonia, Argentina, have scorched more than 15,000 hectares of land, authorities said, amid attemps from fi...

Buenos Aires, Argentina: Forest fires in Patagonia, Argentina, have scorched more than 15,000 hectares of land, authorities said, amid attemps from firefighers and volunteers to contain it since last Monday.

Firefighters are also battling to contain another fire in the Chubut province that had burned around 12,000 hectares, near Epuyen, a town surrounded by forests, hills, and a lake, Argentina's Federal Emergency Agency said.

The fire broke out Monday at Puerto Patriada, about 1,700 km southwest of Buenos Aires in the southern Patagonia region.

The governor of Chubut, Ignacio Torres, said "pproximately 3,000 tourists have been evacuated from the area in recent days, and at least 10 homes have been destroyed by the fire."

Torres said in a radio interview that the situation in the area was "calmer" on Sunday morning but it "remains very critical."