A team of 38 firefighters are carrying out fire control measures in a pine forest near the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador, such as creating firebreaks and dampening the forest floor. "It has been proven that in Ecuador, 99.9% of the fires produced are human-made," says Lieutenant Jonathan Martinez of the Portoviejo Fire Department. The Andean country has had almost no rain for almost three months, making it tinder try. So far this year it has recorded 3,300 forest fires that have destroyed nearly 38,000 hectares of vegetation. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES