Bogota firefighters work hard to put out forest fire in eastern mountains

A forest fire broke out in the eastern mountains of the Colombian capital city, paralyzing the downtown core with a dense column of smoke, with a yellow warning regarding air pollution released Tuesday.

Hospitals received an order to suspend all non-priority surgeries and focus on treating skin burns and breathing problems, Luis Beleno, director of the Control Center of Emergencies told local media.

Meanwhile, firefighters have been working since Monday morning to put out the fire and yet were hindered by strong wind and dry weather. Smoke has blanketed the downtown area since the city is located in a valley around 2,600 meters above sea level.

"We are monitoring the atmospheric behavior and mobility of air masses. It is expected in the coming hours that the smoke will move toward the north (Usaquen municipality) and south (Kennedy municipality) of the city," Bogota's Environment Department said in a statement.

Most of the ministries, public offices, universities, schools and some shops downtown were evacuated Tuesday afternoon by the local authorities due to the danger of dense smoke.

A group of 100 firefighters and a number of helicopters are still working to extinguish the fire in the mountain, which is difficult to access and known for its non-native trees such as pines and eucalyptus which have been suffering from drought. Endi