The official said Tuesday, in an interview with Teleamazonas channel, that between November 1 to date in Loja 8,800 hectares were burned, while in Azuay the flames are 80 percent under control, but more than 3,000 hectares have been consumed.

He mentioned that they have received help from Peru, Italy, Canada and there is availability of humanitarian aid in case it is needed from nations such as Spain.

According to Carrillo, there are two suspects of intentionally causing these fires and they are looking for a way to sanction them for terrorism.

In his opinion, these intentional acts are an attempt at political destabilization, because when an emergency of this type arises, all resources are used to deal with it and, consciously, other sectors such as security are neglected.

The day before, the Ecuadorian president, Daniel Noboa, catalogued this type of acts as “environmental terrorism” and affirmed that they are provoked for political purposes by those who want “to see our country burn”.

Regarding the declaration of national emergency for 60 days due to fires, water deficit and drought, Carrillo explained that it will allow the mobilization of resources to attend vulnerable populations, to obtain safe water storage methods, among other actions.

The head of the National Secretariat of Risk Management emphasized that on the coast, provinces such as Manabí, Guayas and Santa Elena, suffer the shortage of the vital liquid.

In the case of agriculture, he confirmed that the damages exceed US$ 349 million.

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