UNESCO commends Argentinian fire-fighters working to bring blaze under control

This site is vital for the protection of some of the last portions of continuous Patagonian Forest in an almost unspoiled state and is the habitat for a number of endemic and threatened species of flora and fauna.

UNESCO expresses its full support to the Argentinian fire-fighters and authorities regarding the fire that broke out on the night between 25 and 26 January 2024 in the Eastern side of the World Heritage site of Los Alerces National Park in Argentina, located in northern Patagonia.

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2017, the Los Alerces National Park is located in the Andes of northern Patagonia and its western boundary coincides with the Chilean border. Successive glaciations have molded the landscape in the region creating spectacular features such as moraines, glacial cirques and clear-water lakes. This site is vital for the protection of some of the last portions of continuous Patagonian Forest in an almost unspoiled state and is the habitat for a number of endemic and threatened species of flora and fauna.

It is reported that the forest fire spread quickly, in the area of the lac Futalaufquen, in the province of Chubut, both within the National Park and beyond, and has already consumed some 1000 hectares, out of the total 188 379 hectares of the site and the 207 313 hectares of the surrounding buffer zone.