Venezuela Forest Fires Threaten Mountaintop Park, Nacional Says
By Peter Wilson
Caracas, May 7 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan fire fighters worked to control four forest fires on the mountaintop national park that overlooks the country's capital, El Nacional reported.
The fires were on the mountain's north side, facing the Caribbean, the newspaper said, citing firefighting units. The four fires have been burning since Saturday and have consumed about 260 hectares (642 acres).
Similar fires broke out in March. Venezuela's rainy season starts this month.
The fires are burning on the same mountain range where the country's worst-ever natural disaster occurred in 1999, when mudslides and floods killed at least 15,000 people.
(EN 5/7 A8) To see El Nacional's Web site, click on {NCNL