These facts have been qualified by the Government and the Municipality of Quito as terrorist and criminal acts, so the Attorney General’s Office has initiated an investigation to find those responsible.

The Minister of the Interior, Monica Palencia announced a reward plan for those who provide information on the matter.

The mayor of the city, Pabel Muñoz, announced early this morning that at least two firemen and two children have been injured and more than one hundred families have been evacuated from their homes.

Muñoz detailed that all the fires have been controlled, except the one on Auqui hill, where the firefighters together with members of the Armed Forces and National Police are still working to extinguish the fire. Everything will depend on the weather and the wind, he said.

For her part, the Secretary of Security, Carolina Andrade, explained that while the four critical fires in Quito were being attended, 33 other fires were reported in different parts of the capital, during the afternoon and evening of Tuesday.

Andrade added that since July until Tuesday there have been more than 300 forest fires in the Ecuadorian capital, affecting more than 1,800 hectares.

The Ministry of Education in Ecuador suspended classes today in Quito and the Ministry of Labor ordered teleworking in the public sector due to the emergency caused by the poor air quality.

According to the authorities, this measure is aimed at protecting the health of public employees, while the work of the relief agencies to control the fires continues.

The forest fire originated on Tuesday afternoon in Guápulo, in the east of Quito, but the flames spread to the Metropolitan Park, Cerro Auqui and Simón Bolívar Avenue.

The Secretariat of Risk Management (SGR) said that between five and seven helicopters have been fighting the flames from the air since the early hours of Wednesday.

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