(Ribeirão Preto) Brazil is “at war against fires and crime,” Environment Minister Marina Silva said Sunday, as a state of emergency was declared in 45 cities in the southeastern state of São Paulo.
After a crisis meeting with leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the minister announced that investigations had been opened by the federal police to look into the causes of the extensive damage caused in the region in recent days.
São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, who has declared a state of emergency in 45 municipalities, announced on Sunday that two people suspected of starting arson attacks had been arrested.
One of the most affected areas is Ribeirão Preto, a city of more than 700,000 inhabitants located about 300 km from São Paulo, in the heart of an important agricultural hub.
PHOTO LOURIVAL IZAQUE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas declared a state of emergency in 45 municipalities on Saturday night.
“I went outside last night around 7pm and had a lot of trouble breathing. I’ve lived here for 32 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Carlos Rodrigues, a 66-year-old retiree.
“I was really scared […] “I have rhinitis so I have been locked up at home,” said Nazaré Loureiro dos Santos, a 71-year-old beautician, sheltering under an umbrella as authorities hope that rain on Sunday will help ease the severity of the situation.
“Apocalyptic”
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 Ribeirão 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.
PHOTO JOEL SILVA, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The situation is particularly worrying in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
Two factory workers died on Friday in Urupes, in the north of the state, while fighting a fire.
Flights have been cancelled and roads have been cut off due to the fires, which have also destroyed crops and killed livestock.
According to the Santo Antônio do Aracanguá city hall, around forty cattle died of carbonization on a farm.
An Embraer KC-390, a Brazilian Air Force troop transport aircraft converted into a water bomber with a capacity of 12,000 liters, arrived in Ribeirão Preto on the night of Saturday to Sunday.
But according to Minister Marina Silva, “he has not yet been able to operate, due to the amount of smoke.” This gives an idea of the scale of the problem,” she lamented.
PHOTO MARCOS LIMONTI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Smoke from forest fires in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo state, Brazil, on August 25, 2024.
The Amazon is burning too
Smoke clouds were visible in several Brazilian cities in other regions on Sunday, including the capital Brasilia (Centre-West).
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 period of exceptional drought in the state of São Paulo, but also in the Amazon (North), where forest fires are raging, despite a sharp drop in deforestation under the Lula government.
“If we had not halved deforestation [en 2023 par rapport à 2022]the situation would have been much worse,” warned Marina Silva.
More than 48,674 fires have been detected since the beginning of the year in the region that is home to the largest tropical forest on the planet, a 76% increase compared to the same period last year.