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Campaign looks to curb wildfires

by Nick Delgado

Guam - The Guam Coastal Management Program and the Department of Agriculture have launched a new campaign in light of the recent grassfires on island. The campaign is called Na Para I Guafi ("Stop The Fire"). Campaign Manager Elaina Todd says for this year alone wildfires have burned about 400 acres of land.

Todd says the campaign is focused on providing outreach to the community on the impacts that wildfires have on our environment.  "They burn the grass and the grass is what holds the soil in place. We've been lucky to have rain this dry season but unfortunately this rain is just washing all this dirt into the rivers and its pouring out onto the ocean. It's smothering the reefs and basically the impacts on land are killing our reef and the fish and the sea, and just trying teach that connective ness and get people to be upset about it," she explained.

The campaign comes immediately after an 8-hour battle that local and federal fire officials had Tuesday with a fire that burned about 150 acres in the Nimitz Hill area.