On December 30, 2024, over 100 firefighters and highly trained technical personnel are actively battling a wildfire that ignited five days ago in the southern region of Nahuel Huapi National Park, near Lake Los Manzanos.
According to Argentina's National Parks authorities, the affected area is situated in a forest that is extremely difficult to access, characterized by steep slopes and high complexity. Currently, the fire remains distant from public use areas and residential zones within the park.
The impacted region has been divided into four main sectors: Los Manzanos, Laguna Quetro (between Cerro Alcorta and Cerro Colorado), Cerro Colorado, and Cerro Bastión. The fire has already consumed approximately 1,800 hectares.
Heavy smoke hindered aerial operations on Sunday, including the use of firefighting planes and a Boeing 737 dispatched by the government of Santiago del Estero, which had previously made several drops of around 15,000 liters of water each on Saturday.
The fire was first reported on December 26, when park authorities indicated two ignition points in the southern area of the park, located in the so-called "Strict Reserve" near Lake Los Manzanos, about 5 kilometers from Lake Martin, in a wet forest that is hard to access.
Initially, park authorities attribute the fire's origin to a thunderstorm that occurred in the area on December 16, which produced a significant number of lightning strikes.