(Ribeirão Preto) The Brazilian government announced on Sunday the dispatch of military aircraft to help fight the forest fires that are ravaging the state of São Paulo (southeast), where more than 40 cities are on maximum alert.
“Following the guidelines of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to support the State of São Paulo in the fight against the fires that are affecting dozens of municipalities, we have asked the Ministry of Defense to mobilize aircraft to fight [contre les flammes] and monitor the affected areas,” Regional Development Minister Waldez Goes posted on the social network X.
He said four aircraft were initially deployed, including an Embraer KC-390, a troop transport aircraft converted into a water bomber with a capacity of 12,000 litres.
The situation is particularly worrying in Ribeirao Preto, a city of more than 700,000 inhabitants located about 300 km from São Paulo, in the heart of an important agricultural region.
PHOTO LOURIVAL IZAQUE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
São Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas declared a state of emergency in 45 municipalities on Saturday evening.
In a posh housing estate, residents were forced to leave their homes as the flames approached, according to the news site G1.
Several videos circulating on social media show Ribeirao Preto plunged into darkness on Saturday from the end of the afternoon, with a thick layer of smoke and strong winds.
“It’s apocalyptic. Lots of wind, lots of smoke, you can’t see the city anymore. And it’s 5 p.m.,” says the author of one of his videos, wearing a protective mask to leave his house and squinting because of the smoke.
Two factory workers died on Friday in Urupes, in the north of the state, while fighting a fire.
São Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas declared a state of emergency in 45 municipalities on Saturday night and announced that 10 million reais (about 2.4 million Canadian) will be allocated to help rural producers whose crops or livestock have been affected by the fires.
PHOTO JOEL SILVA, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The situation is particularly worrying in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil.
According to the Santo Antônio do Aracanguá city hall, around forty cattle died of carbonization on a farm.
Authorities hope that rain forecast for the next few hours will help ease the situation.
According to data collected by satellites from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the state of São Paulo is experiencing its worst month of August for fires since records began in 1998, with 3,480 outbreaks identified. This is more than double last year’s total.
The spread of fires is being encouraged by a prolonged period of drought in the state of São Paulo, but also in the Amazon (North), where forest fires are raging.