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STORY: :: Firefighters tackle forest fires ravaging Peru's Amazon

:: Amazonas, Peru

:: Pablo Vega Tafur, Director, Regional Office of Risk and Disaster Management of Amazonas

:: "This type of event has been occurring throughout the seven provinces of our region of Amazonas. The fires have affected about 53,000 hectares (130,965 acres) so far, but we still need to quantify the active fires."

:: Panamericana TV

Authorities have been tackling the fires directly on the ground and dropping water from helicopters in inaccessible areas.

The local press said on Sunday that the forest fires that have been raging in different regions of Peru for the past nine days have killed 10 people.

According to local officials, fueled by dry conditions and high winds, the blazes have already consumed more than 50,000 hectares of rainforest, threatening local wildlife and indigenous communities.

Fires are partly caused by the slash-and-burn methods to clear land for farming purposes worsened by the drought, local media reported.