Between September 6 and 11, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu were threatened by a large brush fire, eventually destroying over 1,900 acres of mountain forest. To prevent the fire from reaching the ruins, more than 400 firefighters pumped water on the dense vegetation on the hills surrounding the World Heritage site. Peruvian police worked in teams with local residents on the Calvario peak near the EGEMSA electric plant. The blaze started on Sunday along the railroad line between Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu in a very wild space. The fire was thought to have been caused by local farmers who were burning weeds on the bank of the nearby Urubamba River to clear farmland. On Thursday, September 11, the fire was eventually brought under control after torrential rains.

Machu Picchu is a 15-century Inca citadel, located in the Eastern Cordillera of Southern Peru, on a 7,970 foot mountain ridge. It was built in the classical Inca style with polished dry-stone walls. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was constructed as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. Often mistakenly referred to as the “Lost City of the Incas,” it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization and Peru’s most popular attraction visited by 1.5 million tourists yearly. However, during the novel Coronavirus, Machu Picchu and Inca Trail was closed because Martin Vizcarra, Peruvian president, declared a state of emergency and all important tourist sites were closed. Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historic Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Authorities have indicated that although the fire was not within the area of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, the ashes and smoke reached the ancient Inca city, but the archaeological park was out of danger. The site was reopened to the public on Friday, September 12.