Havana, Feb 27 (RHC) The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged on Monday the work of firefighters, forest rangers, and villagers working to mitigate the fire in the mountainous area Pinares de Mayarí, in the eastern province of Holguín.

Through his Twitter profile, the head of state highlighted the courage and sacrifice of the forces involved to prevent the spread of the fire.

The fire, which for more than a week has been raging in the mountainous area of Holguín, endangers protected areas of great value.

The fire has damaged more than 1,700 hectares, whose effects on vegetation and fauna cannot yet be quantified. However, environmental specialists warned the damage is considerable and recovery will take years.

Despite the combined effort of forestry workers, firefighters, and the support of specialized machinery, the fire managed to reach the closest areas of the municipalities of Mella and San Luis, belonging to the province of Santiago de Cuba. (Source: Prensa Latina)