Fires in the Pantanal are once again a concern in MS – 10/05/2023 – Environment

October has barely begun and Mato Grosso do Sul records 147 fires, most of them in the Pantanal. The four municipalities in the state that form the biome are on the list of high-risk outbreaks, which represents a maximum alert situation for brigade members.

Data from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research) show that the number of fire outbreaks as of Wednesday (4) in Mato Grosso do Sul is already more than triple that recorded in the same period of September, when 40 were detected. hot spots.

On September 18, a fire devastated an area of ​​500 hectares in Bonito (MS), close to the Formoso River. At the end of September and beginning of October, the fire reached the region called Pantanal do Paiaguás, in Corumbá (MS).

The fire is under control at the site, but is still monitored by Fire Department teams. The total devastation was not disclosed.

Of the current outbreaks, according to a consultation with the Inpe bulletin, 108 are in Porto Murtinho, a municipality that makes up one of the 11 subregions that form the pantanal in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.

Despite representing a small portion, approximately 3% of the biome, it is considered a source of concern: there are fires recorded within the Kadiwéu Indigenous Land, with an area of ​​539 thousand hectares and difficult to access.

The state coordinator of PrevFogo, Márcio Yule, an organization linked to Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Natural and Renewable Resources), says that the situation is an alert.

In addition to the 48 brigade members, indigenous residents of the area, five others have reinforced the fight against the flames since the 29th.

This Thursday (5), ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation and Biodiversity) planned to send equipment to Kadiwéu land, including a UTV vehicle (similar to a quadricycle) that helps with access to areas within the village, where 1,607 indigenous people live.

Yule explains that rain is forecast for the state on Sunday (8), but, before that, on Friday (6), the thermometers will rise even higher. The Inmet (National Institute of Meteorology) forecast indicates that, in Porto Murtinho, for example, the maximum could reach 42°C, as well as in Miranda and Aquidauana, and, in Corumbá, 43°C.

In the last city, Inpe records 26 fires. The president of IHP (Instituto Homem Pantaneiro), Ângelo Rabelo, says that teams of brigade members are on standby. “The temperatures are very high and the winds are strong every day.”

The institute has satellite monitoring which, according to Rabelo, has helped to identify the fires and initiate the fight. The teams are in Serra do Amolar, fighting small outbreaks and reinforcing firebreaks (areas without vegetation that prevent the spread of fire).

Yule recalls that, with the 2020 fire, when 3.909 million hectares of the Pantanal were devastated by fire, there was a mobilization of governments, NGOs and civil society, with training of firefighters, residents of risk areas, in addition to the purchase of equipment. “Unfortunately, this had to happen to serve as a warning.”

The red readiness signal should remain in place until the regular rain cycle begins. “It used to rain from the second half of September onwards, but that hasn’t happened for a long time”, he highlights.

The concern now is when this regular cycle will begin. In 2020, after the devastation from August to November, the rain only started in the second half of November. “I hope that doesn’t happen this year.”