SPECIAL ALERT!

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - Galapagos National Park officials say that the volcano, La Cumbre, began spewing lava, gas and smoke on uninhabited Fernandina Island on Saturday after four years of inactivity.

The park said in a statement the eruption is not a threat to people living on nearby Isabela Island, but it says lava flowing to the sea is likely to affect marine and terrestrial iguanas, sea lions and other fauna.

Scientists say Fernandina is the island with the most volcanic activity in the archipelago.  La Cumbre last erupted in May 2005.

Source:  The Huffington Post

April 1, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - The roughly 90 hectare wildfire that struck the Cerro Verde highlands on the island of Isabela was reportedly contained over the weekend.

Unfortunately, another fire has broken out on the island of San Cristobal.  The roughly four hectare fire is said to have been accidentally started by people burning trash, but high temperatures and drought conditions have helped the fire to spread.  No details on injuries or environmental damages were provided.

Source:  The Latin American Herald Tribune

Thursday, March 26, 2009 - According to Galapagos National Park personnel on site, the fire that broke out on Isabela Island last Saturday has consumed roughly 70 hectares.  The fire is centered in the agricultural zone in the Cerro Verde area of Santo Tomás, in the highlands above Puerto Villamil, southeastern Isabela.

At the moment, the Galapagos National Park Service, in coordination with the Ministries of Government, Environment, and Defense, is bringing in additional heavy machinery to extinguish the fire.

According to sources, the fire does not represent any danger for Galapagos species.  The Cazuela area, some seven kilometers distant, is the nearest site to the conflagration with a population of giant tortoises, but is not currently considered at risk because prevailing winds are blowing in the opposite direction.

Source:  The Galapagos Conservancy

IGTOA is sorry to hear about the tragic loss of the vessel M/Y Parranda to a fire on January 14th, 2009.  Thankfully, nobody was injured and all 15 passengers and 11 crew members were safely evacuated by zodiac to the M/Y Coral I, which was anchored nearby at North Seymour Island.  The Parranda was anchored approximately 1/2 mile off-shore from Bartolome Island, Galapagos, when the fire broke out during the night.

The cause of the fire remains unknown but is under investigation.  Sources say that at the moment there are no indications of any fuel contamination at the site or any other contamination as a result of the fire.  The Galapagos National Park is expected to issue a formal report on the situation shortly.

On July 2nd, the tourist vessel, Spondylus, sank in Darwin Bay, Genovesa, with 15 passengers and a crew of 9 people on board and they were rescued by other two tourist vessels, Monserrat and Encantada.

The Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation have sent a team of technicians to the site and they are evaluating the environmental damage of this accident.

Authorities are in the process of recovering 300 gallons of diesel from the tanks of the sunk vessel. As of today, no major environmental damage has been reported.

Genovesa Island is located in the North side of the Galapagos Islands, seventy one nautical miles from Puerto Ayora.

Source: Galapagos National Park