Forest fires that last week destroyed 1,800 hectares of national park lands in the northwestern Guanacaste province will cost Costa Rica an estimated $7 million, the daily La Nación reported.

Authorities were alerted about flames taking over the Guanacaste areas of Sitios, Equis Punto and Juanilama on March 30. Two days later, a little more than 1,000 hectares had been burned in four separate forest fires, the daily reported.

Firefighters had gotten the devastating flames under control by Thursday. Minister of Environment and Energy Roberto Dobles told the press damages caused by the fires will not be recuperated for at least 50 years.

Vice-Minister of Environment and Energy Jorge Rodríguez told the daily the estimated $7 million in damages accounts for funds the country has invested in protecting these forestlands during the past 16 years as well as payments Costa Rica receives from developed countries for protecting trees, which helps curb global warming.

Hunters who lit flames to lure animals such as deer away from their homes are to blame for the fires, Dobles said. Rodríguez later announced the ministry's plans to file a complaint before the Liberia Prosecutor's Office against one hunter believed to have been involved in starting the fires.

Officials have yet to evaluate the damage to plants and animals in the area and the impact of the fire on the water supply of the canton of La Cruz, Rodríguez said.

-Tico Times