Wildfire Enveloping Brasilia in Smoke

On Tuesday over 490 firefighters battled blazes that in just over 24 hours consumed 2,000 hectares of the Brasilia National Park conservation area outside the city of Brasilia, with Federal Police launching an investigation into who caused the devastating fires.

According to ICMBio, the government agency responsible for the park, there are four fire fronts all concentrated on the eastern side.

Three aircraft are tackling the flames with water, and a helicopter is helping to monitor the burned areas, the ICMBio statement said.

This is not the first time significant wildfires have been reported in just the past few weeks in Brazil, with the latest dramatic blaze erupting as recently as August 29^th.

ICMBio fire management coordinator João Paulo Morita described how the fire “spread very quickly because of wind speed, low humidity, and it is very hot” he said in a video distributed by the agency.

The situation improved toward the end of the day, Morita said, adding that there were still fires in the woods near the streams. “The job tonight will be to fight these fires that are inside these forests,” he added.

Federal Police are investigating the case, as the fires were started by human activity according to the official statement. So far there have no reports of injured people or rescued animals.

The head of the agency, Mauro Pires, told newspaper Folha de S. Paulo that the fire appears to have started near the edge of the presidency’s countryside residence, with smoke smothering the capital, Brasilia, on Monday.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Instagram that the Federal Police have opened 52 investigations “against those responsible for the crimes against our country,” adding that he would be meeting with Environment Minister Marina Silva to “discuss further actions to deal with this climate emergency.”

Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino issued a ruling on Sunday authorizing the federal government to direct extra funds toward combating forest fires and hiring firefighters.

So far this year Brazil has experienced a historic drought with the Rainforest Foundation pointing to 2024 being the worst for wildfires in 20 years with over 24,923 fire hotspot recorded in the first seven months of the year in the Brazilian Amazon, an increase of 76% compared to 2023.

Scientists argue that climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal leads to warmer temperatures that can make extreme weather events such as wildfires and floods more likely.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press