Peru calls on farmers to halt burns amid deadly fire season

LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen on Monday called on farming communities to stop burning grasslands in Andean and Amazonian areas that have sparked deadly wildfires, killing at least 15 people this season.

Forest fires are frequent in Peru between August and November, largely due to the burning of dry grasslands to expand agricultural frontiers and sometimes by land traffickers, according to data from the Ministry of the Environment.

"Please, I beg you to stop burning grass. All the fires that are happening nationwide have been started by humans," the prime minister told reporters.

Adrianzen said 222 fire emergencies, of which 80% had been controlled, were reported as of Sunday according to the civil defense agency. He added the fires could flare up again due to the dry season, stronger winds and difficult access.

The largest fires have been recorded in the regions of Cuzco, San Martin, Amazonas, Ucayali, Madre de Dios and Ancash, according to authorities.

Health Minister Cesar Vasquez told reporters that 15 people have died and 134 others have been injured so far.

Several authorities have called for greater action from the government to put out the fires. Firefighters and volunteers are trying to put out fires in hard-to-reach areas with water and by hitting the ground with branches to stop it from spreading.

The governor of Ucayali, Manuel Gambini, called for the presence of military aircraft to help firefighters and volunteers because the rugged geography makes it difficult to extinguish the fires that are damaging palm and cocoa crops.

(Report by Marco Aquino; Writing by Alexander Villegas; Editing by Sandra Maler)