September 9, 2021

10:09

Priscilla Peixoto – from Cenarium

MANAUS – With 6,423 registered fires, Tocantins sets a record for the number of fires since the beginning of the year until August. The survey conducted by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) shows that the growth corresponds to 35% of the fires recorded last year, when there were about 4,732 fires.

According to the Tocantins Civil Defense, the fire has destroyed not only the pastures of local farms, but also Permanent Preservation Areas (APP), regions used for soybean planting and legal reserves. Also according to the agency, in the last three days there have been at least three outbreaks of fire in the rural region of Tocantins. In one of them, the flames reached three rural properties and another environmental preservation area, and another outbreak caused a cloud of toxic smoke.

Backup

On August 11, 2020, an official letter requested the deployment of the Armed Forces to inspect, prevent, and combat forest fires in Tocantins. The request was sent to the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro (No Party).

In the request, the governor of the state of Tocantins, Mauro Carlesse (DEM-TO), pointed out that the smoke from forest fires can aggravate cases of respiratory diseases and overload the health system already weakened by the new coronavirus pandemic.

Power

Because of the successive cases of forest fires, Furnas Centrais Elétricas S/A, or Eletrobras Furnas, has warned of the negative consequences for the power supply in the cities of Tocantins. In all, the company has 446 kilometers of transmission lines in the state. Last year there were more than 120 shutdowns in the system due to the fires.

Besides Tocantins, Eletrobras Furnas also operates in the States of Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Goias and São Paulo, which are among the most affected States in relation to the compromised energy supply.

Data

Between the months of July and August, the State of Tocantins came in 2nd place in the ranking of the States of the Legal Amazon with the most fires, with 4,626 records, 700 more than in the same period last year, when the sum was 3,926 fires. The official data are from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).