The U.S. Government granted US$700,000 to help the Colombian authorities fight the forest fires raging across the South American nation.
U.S. Ambassador to Bogota William Brownfield asked Washington for help after Colombian President Alvaro Uribe declared the fires a national disaster last week.
The money will come from the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of USAID, the U.S. Government’s office for foreign humanitarian aid.
US$50,000 will be given to the Colombian chapter of the Red Cross which is helping to fight the fires. The remaining US$650,000 is for the Colombian authorities to acquire equipment to fight the fires.
The fires have so far destroyed over 3,000 hectares of land, leading to the declaration of emergencies in at least twelve of the country’s 32 departments.