Fire destroys 20% of Brasilia forest, arson suspected

By Sebastian Rocandio

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Firefighters on Wednesday managed to reduce the extent of a massive wildfire that ravaged Brazil’s capital for two days, destroying 20 percent of the forest and shrouding the city in clouds of gray-white smoke, authorities said, suspecting it may have been started by arsonists.

The Brasilia National Forest is a conservation area that covers 5,600 hectares of forest that protects the springs that provide 70% of the city’s fresh water.

The fire broke out at the height of the dry season, when vegetation is parched and temperatures are high, allowing flames to spread quickly.

“We have extinguished three of the four fires and we hope to have the fire under control by the end of the day,” said forest manager Fabio dos Santos Miranda.

“We are sure that it is an environmental crime, but we have not confirmed whether it was intentional or not,” he said in an interview, adding that three suspected arsonists were seen in the area where the fire broke out.

Firefighters battled to contain the wildfire and prevent it from spreading to adjacent orchards where farmers grow tomatoes and flowers.

“We are working to protect the orchards, but the wind is pushing the fire towards them and the sparks are flying very far,” said firefighter Major Godoy.

Emilia Vasconcellos, who raises cattle and chickens on a farm at risk of being caught in the blaze, said she believed people started the fire to free up land for themselves, but she had no proof.

The forest was cut back nearly in half by 2022 to make way for urban development by the government of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who rolled back environmental controls and allowed deforestation to intensify in the Amazon rainforest.

A record drought in the Amazon caused fires in the rainforest to increase in August to their highest level since 2010, government data showed Sunday.

Last year, rains came late and were weaker than usual due to a weather phenomenon called El Niño, which was made worse by climate change, making the rainforest particularly vulnerable to this year’s fires.

(Reporting by Sebastian Rocandio, writing by Anthony Boadle, editing by Aurora Ellis)