RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Firefighters on Monday battled flames spreading through a national park in Brazil enveloping Brasilia in smoke. It’s the latest wildfire in the country, which is experiencing an historic drought.
More than 490 firefighters were trying to extinguish blazes that have already burned through 2,000 hectares of the conservation area of Brasilia National Park. There are four main fire fronts, all concentrated in the eastern region of the park, according to a statement from ICMBio, the government agency that manages the park.
The fire “spread very quickly because of wind speed, low humidity, and it is very hot,” ICMBio fire management coordinator João Paulo Morita said in a video distributed by the agency.
The situation improved towards 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.
Three aircraft are using water to tackle the flames, and a helicopter is helping to monitor the burned areas, the ICMBio statement said.
Federal Police are investigating the case, as the fire was started by human activity, the statement said, adding that so far there have no reports of injured or rescued animals.
