The fire caused a lot of smoke and the sky turned red on the stretch between the villages of Nova Esperança and São Francisco. Located around 124 kilometres from the capital Boa Vista, Bonfim is one of the municipalities in the state hit by fires in February. According to the state Civil Defence, teams were called in to fight the fire. In the ranking of municipalities with the highest number of hotspots in February in Brazil, all of them are in Roraima, according to INPE, the National Institute for Space Research. Hotspots are areas where there is dryness and a rise in temperature, which can lead to fires. Roraima is currently facing a period of drought, exacerbated by the El Niño phenomenon. Because of this, fires and burn-offs tend to spread easily. On Monday (26), the federal government recognised an emergency situation in nine municipalities in Roraima due to the effects of the drought. The recognition allows for the mobilisation of federal resources to deal with the effects of the drought. The municipalities are Amajari, Alto Alegre, Cantá, Caracaraí, Iracema, Mucajaí, Pacaraima, Normandia and Uiramutã.

Source: Amazon Agency