Ecuador Declares National Emergency Over Forest Fires, Water Shortage

Ecuador on Monday declared a national emergency due to water shortages, drought and forest fires that have razed more than 10,000 hectares in the south of the country so far this month.

The state of emergency, approved by the environment ministry, will be in place for 60 days, the country's SNGR emergency management secretariat said in a statement.

It will allow the freeing of funds to tackle the multi-faceted crisis, including fires concentrated in the Azuay and Loja provinces, with 17 blazes reported active on Monday.

Eight firefighting helicopters -- three of them sent by Peru and Italy -- were combating fires, said the SNGR.

One of the worst fires was in the Cajas national park.

The South American country has been rationing electricity for months due to the worst drought it has faced in six decades.

Last month, scheduled rationing was lengthened from eight to 14 hours per day.

Low water levels have caused the reservoirs of hydroelectric plants that cover 70 percent of national demand to fall to critical levels, leaving the country to face an "unprecedented crisis," according to Energy Minister Ines Manzano.

According to the SNGR, between January and November, Ecuador reported more than 5,100 forest fires that claimed six lives and injured 45 people.

Fires have consumed some 40,000 hectares of crops and killed more than 44,000 farm animals, according to the government.

Authorities suspect arson in some of the fires, with several suspects identified to date, Cristian Zamora, the mayor of the Azuay capital, Cuenca, told the Ecuavisa broadcaster.

He said the fires may have been set to clear forest area for agriculture.

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