Brazilian Police Arrest 10 People for Setting Fires in Sao Paulo
Fire threatens homes in Sao Carlos City, in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Aug. 24, 2024. Photo: X/ @mariajosenia
August 30, 2024 Hour: 8:46 am
The state of Minas Gerais and ecosystems such as the Amazon and the Pantanal have also suffered the onslaught of the fires.
On Thursday, Brazilian police arrested a 39-year-old man for setting fire to a sugarcane plantation, bringing the total number of arrests for causing wildfires in the state of São Paulo to ten.
RELATED:
Brazil: Rescue Operation Releases People in Conditions Similar to Slavery
This latest arrest occurred in the city of Pindorama, where security guards from a company helped the police find the man in a large area of burning crops.
According to witnesses cited by Brazilian authorities, the suspect “used a lighter to ignite several parts” of the plantation. The detainee stated at the police station that he was under the influence of drugs and was subsequently taken to prison.
Since last week, nine other people have been arrested on charges of causing wildfires in São Paulo, the most populous and industrialized state in Brazil. The police emphasized that they are investigating the nine cases and, so far, have not found any evidence that they are related to each other.
According to the National Institute for Space Research, the state of São Paulo recorded 2,316 fire outbreaks between Thursday and Friday of last week, nearly seven times more than the total recorded in August 2023.
High temperatures, low humidity, and strong wind gusts have caused the flames to spread throughout the interior of the state of São Paulo, in a severe episode that resulted in two deaths in Urupês and approximately 800 evacuations across the region.
One of the most affected areas was Ribeirão Preto, the eighth-largest city in São Paulo, with 700,000 inhabitants, where some residents left their homes due to the proximity of the fire, and flights were canceled due to low visibility. In the past month, authorities have also detected a high number of likely intentional fires in the state of Minas Gerais and in ecosystems such as the Amazon and the Pantanal.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
