GFMC: Bush and Forest Fires in Brazil
Fires in Brazil
26 September 2003
Latest Satellite Image:
Fires in Brazil
Hundreds of fires were detected across South America by the ModerateResolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aquasatellite on 24 September 2003. Biomass burning isconcentrated during the months of July-October in the Southern Hemisphereportion of South America, and is linked to agricultural activities, includingthe use of fire to permanently deforest areas and convert them to agriculturalland. Thehigh-resolution image provided above is 1 km per pixel.
Source: MODIS
Latest News:
Fires blaze in five of Brazil’s national parks
September 25, 2003
By Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil Wildfires are burning national parks in fiveBrazilian states, environmental officials said Wednesday.
In the Chapada dos Veadeiros in mid-western Goias state, 100 firefighters werebattling blazes that have affected about half of the 66,000-hectare(163,086-acre) park.
“In the Chapada dos Veadeiros we have 50 more firefighters preparing to goin,” said Heloiso Bueno Figueiredo, fire prevention coordinator forBrazil’s environmental protection agency, IBAMA. “We have various areasburning, and there are indications that the fires were criminal in origin.”
Figueiredo said in many cases the fires were started by local ranchers seekingto clear pasture near the parks’ edge, and the burning spread thanks to strongwinds.
In neighboring Tocantins state, fires had claimed as much as 70 percent of theJalopao national park over the last eight days. Fires were also burning at twoother parks in the state.
In Minas Gerais state, fires had spread over some 15,000 hectares (37,065 acres)of Serra da Canastra national park, where 37 people were fighting theblaze.
In southern Parana state, 70 firefighters were battling a blaze affecting 25,000hectares (61,775 acres) of the Ilha Grande national park.
Fires also were burning in the Itatiaia National Park in Rio de Janeiro state.
There haven’t been any deaths or injuries reported in the fires. It was tooearly to assess damage to wildlife, officials said.
Source: Associated Press
Regional Mesoamerica Wildland Fire Network: Regional andnational widland fire status reports
The website of the regional Mesoamerica network conatins a largenumber of national and regional analyses on wildland fire:
https://gfmc.online/GlobalNetworks/MesoAmerica/MesoAmerica.html
