Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests

These days, the majestic, forested slopes of Argentina’s Patagonia look like a war zone.

- By IsaBEL DEBRE

THE INFERNO has renewed anger toward Argentine leader Javier Milei, who has cut firefighting spending.

(VICTOR R. CAIVANO Associated Press)

Mushroom clouds of smoke rise as if from missile strikes. Large flames illuminate the night sky, tainting the moon mango-orange and turning the glorious views that generations of writers and adventurers imprinted on the global psyche into something haunted.

Vast swaths of the Los Alerces National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site home to 2,600-year-old trees, are now ablaze.

The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 110,000 acres of Argentina’s native forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists. As of Monday, the inferno was still spreading.

The crisis, with most of Argentina’s fire season still ahead, has renewed anger toward the country’s radical libertarian president, Javier Milei, whose harsh austerity drive in the last two years has slashed spending on programs and agencies that not only work to combat fires but also protect parks and prevent blazes from igniting and spreading in the first place.

“There has been a political decision to dismantle firefighting institutions,” said Luis Schinelli, one of 16 park rangers covering the 642,000 acres of Los Alerces National Park. “Teams are stretched beyond their limits.”

After coming to office on a campaign to rescue Argentina’s economy from decades of staggering debt, Milei slashed spending on the National Fire Management Service by 80% in 2024 compared with the previous year, gutting the agency responsible for deploying brigades, maintaining air tankers, purchasing extra gear and tracking hazards.