Fire Destroys 3,300 Acres Of Forest In Brazil
Brazil: Fire destroys 3,300 acres of forest in Brazil
Source: Reuters News Service, 17 August 2001
BRASILIA, Brazil – A fire started by a fire-fighting team has destroyed 3,300 acres (1,340 hectares) of grassland and forest in Brazil’s wildlife-rich Pantanal region, environmental agency Ibama said.
The blaze on the land, which belongs to the U.S. environmental group Conservation International, started when fire fighters lit a fire for training which burned out of control, fanned by strong winds, Ibama spokesman Estevao Andrade said.
The fire took three days to bring under control, he said.
Forest fires are common during the dry season in Brazil at this time of the year and the Pantanal area, the world’s biggest wetlands, has seen a number of fires in recent weeks.
A group of 150 firefighters fought over the past week to control another fire burning in a national park in the Pantanal, situated in central Brazil.