Smoke from National Park fire spreads across Brasília
The smoke from the fire in Brasília National Park is spreading across Brazil’s federal capital. At dawn on Tuesday (Sep. 17), a large part of the Plano Piloto area, especially up north, was covered in smoke with a strong smell of soot.
Indications have emerged that the fire, which started on Sunday (15) at around 11:30 am, was of criminal origin, prompting the Federal Police to open an investigation.
The wave of fires in the Brazilian capital has affected at least 2 thousand hectares of the Brasília National Park, a conservation unit in the native cerrado biome and abundant in water springs, administered by biodiversity conservation authority ICMBio.
After 147 days without rainfall in the Federal District, the hot, dry weather has made it difficult for the teams to work and easier for the flames to spread. Faced with the need to tackle the fires, the Federal District’s Military Fire Brigade has suspended all vacation concessions, annual bonuses, exemptions and authorizations in order for its personnel to take part in courses and seminars.
The poor air quality in areas close to the park has led the Federal District’s Department of Education to authorize the suspension of school classes.
