Brazil waging ‘war’ on wildfires in crowded Sao Paulo state

RIBEIRAO PRETO, Brazil – Brazil is deploying military aircraft as part of a “war” against wildfires ravaging the south-eastern state of Sao Paulo, with the authorities warning on Aug 25 that arsonists were setting blazes.

Following a crisis meeting of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s Cabinet, Environment Minister Marina Silva announced a “war against the fire” and said the federal police were investigating the “atypical situation” that has caused extensive damage.

“So far we have not detected any fire caused by lightning, which means there are people starting fires,” Mr Lula said in a video that he posted on social media platform X after meeting Ms Silva.

Mr Tarcisio de Freitas, the governor of Sao Paulo, by far the country’s most populous state with some 44 million residents, decreed a state of emergency in 45 municipalities and said two people suspected of starting fires had been arrested.

Mr Lula promised federal assistance to the states in fighting the blazes, saying there were already 3,000 firefighters working nationwide.

With dense smoke drifting across a wide swath of Brazil – even reaching capital city Brasilia 720km to the north – several flights have been cancelled and travel on some roads has been halted.

“I stuck my nose out last night around 7pm and I had a lot of trouble breathing,” 66-year-old retiree Carlos Rodrigues told AFP. “I’ve lived here 32 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Two factory workers died on Aug 23 in Urupes, in the northern part of the state, while fighting a fire, officials said.

The military aircraft being deployed include a KC-390 Embraer, a converted troop transport craft that can drop up to 12,000 litres of water on fire zones.

The Embraer was sent to one of the communities most threatened, Ribeirao Preto, a city of 700,000 people about 300km from Sao Paulo.

But Ms Silva said the plane “was unable to operate because of the amount of smoke”.

She added: “That gives you an idea of the problem.”

Videos posted on social media showed the city plunged into near darkness by a dense layer of smoke. Some residents have had to evacuate.

“It’s apocalyptic,” a person is heard saying in one video.

The authorities were hoping rains that fell on Aug 25 would help alleviate the crisis.

Around the region, farm fields have been razed and scores of cattle have died.

Mr de Freitas said 10 million reais (S$2.37 million) would be allocated to help farmers who lose crops or livestock.

Amid prolonged drought, Sao Paulo state is experiencing its worst month for fires in decades, with 3,480 separate blazes identified, according to the National Institute for Space Research.

The government directly linked the situation to climate change.

“Even the deniers can no longer deny the climate crisis,” Mr Lula said on X.

“We have to fight climate change with a lot of intelligence and with financing from the richest countries that have already destroyed their forests.” AFP