Dominican Republic stunned by two weeks of forest fires

La Vega, Dominican Republic.- A forest fire was spotted Thursday on the north slope of Loma Miranda (central), between the villages Las Manaclitas and Los Algarrobos, where firefighters and volunteers arrived to battle the blaze.

Environment Ministry technicians from the north region work to douse the flames and suspect arson. The smoke can seen be from the Duarte Highway.

Area farmers quoted by local media say they saw six men hiking up to Loma Miranda and began to notice smoke less than two hours before they came down.

Local residents also complained that they reported the blaze to authorities, but were ignored, until around 2pm when a crew arrived.

The wildfire is the latest in spate of blazes across the country during the last two weeks, some blamed on arsonists while the rest were likely the result of a prolonged drought.