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Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera said the government is using national funds to rent Boeing 747 SuperTanker aircraft from Colorado-based Global SuperTanker to assist firefighters on the ground, as well as to address the Amazon rainforest fires that are burning approximately one million hectares of forest in the Chiquitania region.
"The lease for the SuperTanker aircraft is one million dollars. Its daily operating cost is $60,000, not including the $16,000 for each firefighting flight," Linera said.
The aircraft carries approximately 1,500 liters of water, which it drops onto rainforests stretching about 40 kilometers at a time. The plane can fly hundreds of kilometers on each individual flight. There have been at least four flights a day since the aircraft arrived in Bolivia on August 22nd.
The company claims its SuperTanker is "the world's largest, fastest, and longest-coverage aerial firefighting asset." According to laRazón, the company requires a security deposit of up to $800,000 to lease the aircraft.
"We are not having problems with operating costs and are hiring more helicopters to help fight the fires," the Vice President of Bolivia said.
While SuperTankers release water to extinguish large fires, helicopters with water-carrying capacity will be used to fight fires in smaller areas.
International organizations such as the United Nations and the International Development Bank have provided Bolivia with approximately $350,000 in aid to combat the Amazon wildfires, Vice President Linera added. He hopes that international support will reach $500,000.
Bolivian President Evo Morales said he welcomed further aid to combat the wildfires. At a press conference on August 25, he announced that he had accepted offers of assistance from Spain, Chile, and Paraguay.
Bolivian President Evo Morales is personally present in the fire-stricken areas of the Amazon.
Approximately 40% of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil, with the remainder belonging to neighboring countries such as Bolivia. According to AP, the fires have burned about 9,000 square kilometers.2Forests are found only in Bolivia.
