Huila department is on alert due to rising forest fires and IDEAM warnings about the intensifying El Niño phenomenon.
Orlando Garzón from Huila’s Risk Management Office reported that Aipe and Villavieja are on red alert, Neiva, Teruel and Yaguará on orange alert, and eight other municipalities on yellow alert.
The IDEAM issued special communiqué 074 on July 10, stating a probability above 97% that El Niño will persist this semester, with very strong intensity between September 2026 and January 2027.
In Aipe, a fire at Cerro El Callejón remained active for more than two days until it was controlled on Thursday by ten firefighter units. In Neiva, 65 landfill fires and three forest fires have been recorded in July, including one that burned five hectares in the Patinódromo area.
Garzón urged municipalities to sign agreements with fire departments and called on residents to avoid agricultural burns and cigarette butts.
