Fires in Brazil's Sao Paulo state under control: authorities

Fires that have razed thousands of hectares of forest in Brazil's Sao Paulo state have been brought under control, authorities said Monday, though an alert for fresh blazes remained in place.

Since last Thursday, some 2,700 fires had been reported in the vast agricultural state, with more than 40 municipalities placed on high alert.

More than 20,000 hectares were destroyed, according to authorities.

By Monday morning, there were no fires left, Governor Tarcisio de Freitas told local media.

He added that soldiers and firefighters remained out in force to "prevent the reignition" of any fires in anticipation of a dry weather spell.

Brazil has been battered by a series of extreme weather events, most recently massive wildfires in the Pantanal wetlands and once-in-a-century flooding in the state of Rio Grande do Sul that left more than 170 people dead.

Amid prolonged drought, Sao Paulo state is experiencing its worst August for fires in decades, with more than 3,480 separate blazes identified, according to INPE, the National Institute for Space Research.

This was double the number recorded in all of 2023.

Several fires are still raging in the Brazilian Amazon, which is battling the largest number of blazes recorded in nearly two decades.

Experts and authorities say climate change has exacerbated the dry, hot conditions for fires, most of which are set illegally to clear land for agriculture.

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