Ecuador

USAID/OFDA providing training and technical assistance to Ecuador firefighters in 2008.

Fires along the Andes mountain range affected 18 of Ecuador’s 24 provinces between June and September 2012, according to the Government of Ecuador (GoE).  Some fires threatened highly populated areas, including the capital city of Quito, and GoE authorities reported two deaths and five injuries resulting from the fires, as well as more than 19,000 hectares of land burned and several houses destroyed.  On September 13, the GoE National Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR) declared an emergency and issued an orange alert—level three of a four-level alert scale—for eight north-central and south-central provinces:  Azuay, Cañar, Carchi, Chimborazo, El Oro, Imbabura, Loja, and Pichincha. 

On September 20, 2012, U.S. Ambassador Adam E. Namm declared a disaster due to the effects of the fires.  In response, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) provided $100,000 to USAID/Ecuador for the purchase of firefighting equipment, including 300 specialized backpacks and 400 fire rakes for donation to brigades battling the fires.  In addition and in response to a request by SNGR for technical support, a USAID/OFDA assessment and technical team—comprising forest fire and disaster management experts­—provided operations, logistics, information management, and public awareness assistance. 

USG HUMANITARIAN FUNDING PROVIDED IN FY 2012

*(As of September 26, 2012)