After several weeks of battling forest fires across various regions of Peru, the country reports zero active fires as of this morning—encouraging news for the population and for the protection of natural resources.
Rainfall over the last few hours helped fully extinguish the spreading fires, complementing the efforts of the government, firefighters, local authorities, emergency response brigades, and the civilian population.
According to the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN) of the National Institute of Civil Defense (INDECI), five forest fires in the regions of Apurímac, Cusco, and Junín are now under control, though not yet fully extinguished.
In these departments, the Ministry of Defense—through the Armed Forces—continues to combat the fires using both ground and aerial assets.
In Apurímac, efforts are focused on San Antonio de Matibamba, in the Curahuasi district (Abancay province). In Cusco, operations are centered on the community of Callapiñayoc, in the Yanatilé district (Calca province). In Junín, Army battalions are working to extinguish fires in native communities within the Río Tambo and Pangoa districts (Satipo province).
To respond effectively to the forest fires, the Ministry of Defense deployed "Guardián" and "helibalde" (aerial bucket) systems across several regions. These allowed for the aerial discharge of water, which helped mitigate the fires and cleared the way for ground-based brigades to advance.
A forest fire is the spread of unwanted and uncontrolled fire across areas covered by vegetation—such as forests, grasslands, weeds, scrub, or other types of plants—resulting in ecological, economic, and social damage.
These fires can occur at any time; however, in Peru, they are most common during periods with little or no rainfall. In the Andes and the Amazon, they typically occur between July and December, while on the northern coast, they are more common between January and March.
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Published: 10/23/2026