Washington to help Dominican Republic fight major forest fire

Santo Domingo.- United States ambassador James W. Brewster on Tuesday said Washington will help the Dominican government with funds and equipment to fight the forest fire that has charred several thousand hectares of the Central Mountains.

Brewster said the blaze is of concerns for the U.S., which has already received the Dominican Government’s request for help to fight the blaze at Valle Nuevo National Park, near Constanza.

"It is an issue that concerns us very much at all and if we’ve received the Dominican Government’s formal request to assist. In fact we’ve been talking about this possibility in the last couple of days," the diplomat said on ZOL FM radio.

"We’re also trying to identify physical resources that can help. We’re very aware of this situation’s importance," Brewster said, adding that calls were made to Washington and Miami. where the resources and assistance can be identified.