The first month of the year was one of the hottest in recent times. Not only because of the high temperatures that were recorded throughout the country but also because of the fires that were generated in different parts of Argentina. In Neuquén, the llamas affected 6,500 hectares of the department of Aluminé; In La Pampa, burned about 60 thousand hectares; In Sierra de la Ventana three fires caused the loss of 74 thousand hectares and in Claromecó the fire devastated 90% of the vegetation of the local forest.

Since 1996, there has been a National Fire Management Plan (PNMF, for its acronym in Spanish), which is under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and has as its purpose "to intervene in cases of fires that exceed the capacity of a province or national park whenever the jurisdiction so requests." The National Audit evaluated the plan and detected that it "does not have strategic planning" nor a "comprehensive diagnosis that reflects the reality of each region of the country."

According to data provided by the Secretariat in question, during 2011 "there were 6750 forest fires throughout the country" of which 40.58% were intentional, 33.23% for unknown causes, 22.37% for negligence and only 3.82% due to natural causes.

It is striking that more than a fifth of the flames are initiated by some neglect or omission of man and yet the Plan "does not have a national campaign of dissemination and awareness on the importance of forest fires."

Nor is it a minor fact the high percentage of accidents whose origin is unknown and the low incidence of nature in the origin of the fires in our country.

The auditors stated that "there is no methodology to assess the damage caused by fires", whether on the soil, flora and fauna or cultural, urban and archaeological assets. This is despite the fact that the forest audit guides of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI, for its acronym in Spanish) highlights its importance because large forest fires generate "a climate and a smoke" that impact on ecosystems and health Human.

The report, which evaluated the period from August 2012 to March 2013, states that "at the close of the analysis no documentation was found that proves that National Brigade personnel are given medical examinations." He also makes a peculiar comparison: "The increase in the number of vehicles, with 4x4 pickups and the latest generation of autopilots, contrasts with the decrease in the brigade staff and the increase in the average age of the members."
 
Although the incorporation of vehicles is positive, in Chubut "the building infrastructure is not adequate to keep protected the patrimony of climatological phenomena, punctually 12 cars and four fire engines."
In 2012, 102 vehicles were purchased that had not yet been received at the closing of the audit.

It is also highlighted in the report that "the Plan does not have its own helicopters and airplanes" and in case they are necessary "they are contracted through a public tender."

There are times when the PNMF lends motorcycles provinces or vehicles, through the signing of a loan between SAyDS and the holder of the jurisdiction, but the Plan "does not have records that show the control of the assets granted."

On the hand tools that own the National Brigade, the AGN observed that "they are in perfect condition and guarded."

Having meteorologists among PNMF staff is essential when making daily forecasts. But the auditors detected a "deficit since there were only two agents of the National Meteorological Service rendering service and one requested the transfer to Chubut reason why it only has a minimal contribution with the offices of the SMN".

Regarding the distribution of goods by the Nation, the AGN detected that "it is not according to the reality of each jurisdiction". The Plan "gives each province a uniform annual sum" which in 2011 was $ 4.9 million and the following year it rose to $153 million. The physical space where the coordination is found is given by each province.

Although the General Environmental Law establishes a regime of citizen participation, the auditors "did not find mechanisms that allow dedicating that there have been consultations or public hearings for the discussion of the national or regional plans."

Until the date of approval of the AGN report, in October 2013, there was no "manual of rules and procedures", so "the relationship between coordination is informal because there are no standardized procedures or cooperation agreements."

Although the Ministry of the Environment "has a division of the country into eco-regions, the Fire Management Plan did not take into account this classification for its regionalization, so there is no correspondence between the limits and the phytogeographic regions in which it operates." Neither took into account the particular geobotany of the place for the training courses given in each jurisdiction.