Forest fire in Dominican Republic central mountains ‘too critical’

Santo Domingo.- The forest fire which has charred large parts of Valle Nuevo National Park, Constanza (central) during the last few days has devastated more than 1,200 hectares of pine forests, local residents say.

"The situation is too critical," said a source quoted by eldia.com.do.

So much so that Environment minister Bautista Rojas and Army chief of staff Ruben Paulino toured the area Sunday to take charge of the effort.

Firefighters, forest rangers, technicians, Army troops and volunteers work in digging trenches light backfires to quell the blaze, whose spread prompted Rojas order expanded fronts, while Paulino revealed a request for Blackhawk helicopters from the U.S. Southern Command.