Sao Paulo state governor declares state of emergency in 45 cities engulfed in flames

Sao Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas declared a state of emergency on Saturday night in 45 cities in the interior of the country beset by massive fires that have killed at least two people and caused the eviction of residents in various areas by highly toxic smoke. In addition to the 45 cities in emergency, another 41 are on high alert.

In just two days, last Thursday and Friday, Morning mail The state of São Paulo has reportedly registered 2,316 fires, 90% of which were human-caused and some of which were gigantic, seven times more than were registered in the entire month of August last year. The numbers for Saturday are still being tallied, but at least 400 more fires have broken out in the central-west, northwest and western regions of the state, with tragedy already affecting towns such as Ribeirão Preto, Presidente Prudente, São José do Rio Preto, Araraquara, Aluminio, Sertãozinho, Pontal, Monte Alegre do Sul, Lucélia, Presidente Epitácio, Bebeduru and Urupes, where two men died trying to put out a factory fire.

In Ribeirão Preto, a wealthy city of 711,000 people linked to agribusiness and the epicentre of major fires, residents of the Bomfim Paulista district were forced to flee their homes after very intense flames and thick clouds of smoke reached the densely forested region. The situation also remains critical in São José do Rio Preto, a city of 465,000 inhabitants, where thick smoke has engulfed everything, made the air unbreathable and led to the closure of schools and much of the commercial and sporting activities, among other things.

In dozens of cities in the state of Sao Paulo, the health system is suffocated by a sharp increase in the number of people needing help, mainly for breathing problems and poisoning from smoke inhalation. Air travel has been suspended in several cities, and several roads are blocked, some with walls of flame more than 20 meters high.

In the state capital, São Paulo, located hundreds of kilometers from the main fires, 12.5 million residents were surprised when the sky darkened on Saturday afternoon, as if it were already night, covered with smoke and gases. wind, and the streets were covered with layers of soot on the cars and asphalt and a strong smell of burning. Even with all the doors and windows closed, soot particles penetrated the houses, which also affected the breathing of many residents of this city and forced the area to be cleaned two, three, four times in the same day, a situation that is repeating itself this Sunday, despite the rain that fell the day before.