For a week now, Peruvian firefighters have been fighting a forest fire near the ruins of Machu Picchu, the legendary Inca city nestled in the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of 2,400 meters.
The fire, which started last Tuesday, was started by farmers burning grass and garbage to prepare for the new crops. Then its area was only 0.25 square kilometers.
But already on Wednesday, about 20 hectares were affected by the fire, the mayor of the nearby city of Cusco said.
Machu Picchu, a complex of stone structures located high in the Andes between two mountain peaks, was built over 500 years ago by the Incas, whose empire controlled vast areas of South America from modern southern Ecuador to central Chile.
The actions of firefighters greatly complicate the remoteness of the burning area.
“We are fighting the forest fire almost around the clock, but it is not possible to bring it under control, given that the area is difficult to access and it is not possible to deliver powerful equipment here,” the Cusco City Hall commented on the situation.
The breathtaking ruins of Machu Picchu, which made the surrounding Cusco region a top tourist destination in Peru, were named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.