Rain helps bring fire in pantanal biome under control
The outbreaks of wildfire in the pantanal, in Mato Grosso do Sul, have been completely contained, the state’s fire brigade reported. The rainfall over the last few days is said to have contributed to the efforts of the agents fighting the blaze in one of the planet’s richest and most diverse ecosystems.
Even so, 72 firefighters continue to monitor the region and carry out the post-fire work in order to prevent new fires.
The heat wave that has sent temperatures soaring across Brazil has also reached the pantanal, where the low humidity has favored the emergence of the first outbreaks, spread by the strong winds of recent weeks, the agents noted.
The downpours of the last few days have also helped firefighters in Mato Grosso, where a single hotspot had been active near the Paraguay river, also in the pantanal, until Tuesday (Nov. 21). The state also has firefighters and Civil Defense personnel on standby.
“The non-detection of a hotspot does not mean the fire is completely extinguished, but rather that the intensity of the flames has decreased significantly. That’s why our work has not come to an end. The teams are still there to monitor the scene, fight any spots of fire and carry out mopping-up operations,” Lieutenant Colonel Marcos Aires, commander of the Environmental Emergencies battalion, said in a statement.
In addition to the structure of the two states and NGOs, the fight against the fire in the pantanal was aided by equipment and officials from the federal government. In addition to fighting the flames, they also rescued injured and escaped animals, chiefly around the Pantanal National Park and the Transpantaneira highway.
“People need to look at the whole picture, and the fire in the pantanal needs to be clarified. Despite the huge investment so far, we are talking about nature, high temperatures—which have been above 40ºC in recent weeks—and an atypical dry period. All this—added to the pantanal vegetation, which has a lot of organic material, called peat—means that the fire spreads underground, not on the surface. These circumstances make the work of our professionals all the more difficult,” Colonel Alessandro Borges, general commander of the fire brigade, stated.
New rescue
Among the animals rescued was the jaguar that became famous when it was saved with third-degree burns on its paws during the fires that destroyed a portion of the biome in September 2020. At the time, the feline underwent an innovative stem cell–based treatment and was released back into the wild after a month.
Named Ousado (Portuguese for bold, daring), the jaguar was identified by researchers from the conservation authority ICMBio while resting by a river. According to the experts, the animal seemed healthy, although one of its front paws was swollen and showed a slight abrasion.
