A forest fire in the Barra Honda National Park, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, has burned at least 65 hectares since Sunday, the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications Ministry (MINAET) said Monday.

A second fire also sprung up in Santa Rosa National Park, further north in Guanacaste, however fire fighters had it under control by Monday, according to a statement from MINAET. High winds spread the fire quickly across more than 250 hectares of grassland and isolated trees, the statement said.

In the first six weeks of the year, eight fires burned a total of 450 hectares of protected state land, such as national parks, mostly in the western part of the country.