Colombia declares emergency as wildfire burns near Villa de Leyva

Colombian authorities declared a public calamity Sunday as a wildfire scorched roughly 290 hectares of mountains surrounding Villa de Leyva, a colonial tourist town 160km north-east of Bogotá. Strong winds pushed the flames toward populated areas at times, prompting preventive evacuations including hotels near the fire. Governor Carlos Amaya of Boyacá said helicopters carried out about 170 water drops, releasing 240,000 liters. More than 400 firefighters, emergency workers, and volunteers joined the response. President Abelardo de la Espriella said the blaze was about 50% controlled.

Environment minister Fabio Arjona said preliminary information from the disaster management agency suggested the fire may have been deliberately started, though authorities were still investigating.

Nineteen fires remained active across Colombia as of the latest national update, with 279 municipalities under some level of wildfire warning. Dry conditions tied to a developing El Niño are raising fire danger across the Andean and Caribbean regions. Neighboring Ecuador is battling 12 active fires of its own, with more than 21,800 hectares burned this year. Disaster officials say the period of greatest risk runs from October through April.