It was inevitable.

We’ve got two nasty forest fires burning in the area following the electrical storm of the other night.

The first is at a nearby estancia, Fortin Chacabuco, which is just north east of Bariloche and is a popular destination for tourists who want to go horseback riding. They are saying 12 hectares have burned. Hopefully it’s well far from the estancia’s main building, which is owned and run by a family of British immigrants, the Whewells. It’s in the classic Patagonian transition zone between the lush Valdivian forests to the west and the dry Steppe to the east. The area is fragile enough to begin with, but weeks of hot, dry weather have turned it into a cinderbox. Most of the forests here these days is plantations of pine, which like to burn anyway.
Meanwhile, further south, there are apparently 200 hectares affected around the small town of El Hoyo, just south of El Bolson. This is prime berry-growing area (my precious little raspbabies!) and I was just there recently visiting the southern most vineyard in the world for an assignment (I’ll post my thoughts on this place very soon). It’s a very beautiful valley along the shores of the Epuyen River. The saddest part here is that these are native forests being burned, and there are less and less of them around any more.

Local firefighters have been called in from their holidays. A handful of local tourist establishments have been evacuated. I hope they are able to save the homes, the berries, the vineyards, and the forests!