Brazilian firefighters battle national park wildfire that is enveloping Brasilia in smoke

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Firefighters on Monday battled flames spreading through a national park in Brazil that is enveloping Brasilia in smoke. It's the latest wildfire in the country, which is experiencing an historic drought.

More than 490 firefighters were trying to extinguish blazes that have already burned through 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) of the conservation area of Brasilia National Park. There are four main fire fronts, all concentrated in the eastern region of the park, according to a statement from ICMBio, the government agency that manages the park.

The fire “spread very quickly because of wind speed, low humidity, and it is very hot,” João Paulo Morita, an ICMBio fire management coordinator, said in a video distributed by the agency.

The situation improved towards the end of the day, Morita said, adding that there were still fires in the woods near the streams. “The job tonight will be to fight these fires that are inside these forests,” he added.

Three aircraft are using water to tackle the flames, and a helicopter is helping to monitor the burned areas, the ICMBio statement said.

Federal Police are investigating the case, as the fire was started by human activity, the statement said, adding that so far there have no reports of injured or rescued animals.

The head of the agency, Mauro Pires, told newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that the fire appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's countryside residence.

Smoke from the fire smothered the capital, Brasilia, on Monday, and columns of black smoke were visible from several points in the city.

Brazil has been enveloped in smoke in recent weeks, as fires rage in the Amazon rainforest, the Cerrado savanna and the Pantanal wetlands. Those uncontrolled, human-made wildfires have ravaged protected areas and spread smoke over a vast expanse, causing air quality to plummet.

The country is also enduring its worst drought since nationwide measurements began more than seven decades ago, with 59% of the country affected — an area roughly half the size of the U.S. Major Amazon basin rivers are registering historic lows.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Instagram that the Federal Police have opened 52 investigations “against those responsible for the crimes against our country,” adding that he would be meeting with Environment Minister Marina Silva to “discuss further actions to deal with this climate emergency.” On Sunday, he did a flyover of the park that's spread across three of the Federal District's administrative regions, including Brasilia, and one municipality in Goias state.

Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino issued a ruling on Sunday authorizing the federal government to direct extra funds toward combating forest fires and hiring firefighters.

Scientists say that climate change — primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal — makes extreme weather more likely, favoring conditions for events such as wildfires and floods.

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