Bolivia Bans Flights Over Amazon Rain Forest Wildfire Area - Reports

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - Bolivia's Civil Aviation Authority banned flights over the Amazon rain forest area which is facing intense wildfires, local media reported, adding that a Boeing 747 Supertanker will fly from California, the United States, to participate in extinguishing the fires.

The fire had destroyed 744,000 hectares of the rain forest and agricultural lands in Bolivia, the ABI news agency reported on Thursday.

The fires in Amazonia have been underway for three weeks. According to the satellite data provided by the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), this year, the wildfire area increased by 82 percent compared to 2018.

Boeing 747 Supertanker is capable of carrying up 70,000 litres (18,500 gallons) of water. It was involved in fighting massive wildfires in Chile in 2017.