(Bloomberg) -- The state of Sao Paulo, the wealthiest region of the largest economy in Latin America, is facing a record number of fires due to low humidity and a blistering heat wave.
INPE data compiled between Aug. 22-24 show Sao Paulo with 2,621 fires. Other regions have also been plagued by fire due to above-average temperatures of around 30C (86F) and dry, seasonal weather. Mato Grosso, in the central west, had 1,273 fires, while Para, in the north, logged 1,036.
A separate INPE survey shows a record 4,973 fires in Sao Paulo in the year-to-date, the highest since 1998 when the database was started.
“We are hiring planes to spray water, which will be added to our aircraft teams from the fire department and with reinforcement of the Armed Forces,” said Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, who flew over the areas with the highest number of fires Saturday.
Seventeen cities face active fire outbreaks and 36 municipalities are being monitored and are on high alert for fires, according to a note from the state government that cited the Emergency Management Center of the Civil Defense.
Raízen SA confirmed fires in a sugar-cane field near its Santa Elisa mill last week. Flames were controlled in the same day, but hit some company equipment, and part of the mill’s biomass stocks. The area is the top producer of sugar cane.
The state government installed a rapid response office on Aug. 23 that includes specialists from the State Civil Defense and the secretariats of Public Security, Agriculture and Supply, as well as Environment, Infrastructure and Logistics. More than 7,300 people, including professionals and volunteers, have been mobilized to fight the flames and provide guidance to the population, the note said.
The federal government is also “working to ensure that measures are taken as quickly as possible and the situation is resolved,” Brazil’s Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, said through his X account.
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