Peru declares state of emergency in regions scorched by forest fires

Peru's President Dina Boluarte speaks as she meets with foreign press, in Lima, Peru January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Angela Ponce/File Photo

LIMA (Reuters) -Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in three regions affected by devastating forest fires that have burned through swathes of the nation's Andean and Amazonian crop lands and left 16 dead.

The heavily forested northern regions of Amazonas, San Martin and Ucayali will be under the new emergency measures, she said, following several requests from local authorities for more resources to be allocated to fight the fires.