AMAZONAS, BRAZIL — A wildfire has been spreading for more than a week through an area of floodplain forest near Lake Canaçari in Itacoatiara, in the interior of Amazonas. The fire has already burned about 686 hectares, equivalent to nearly 1,000 soccer fields, according to data from the Fire Panel, operated by the Center for Management and Operations of the Amazon Protection System (Censipam).

Images recorded Sunday (27), about 10 kilometers from the city center, show flames spreading through the vegetation and a large amount of smoke covering the area.

The fire was first recorded on Sept. 19. According to the Fire Panel, the event has remained active for seven days and began along the shores of Lake Canaçari before spreading through the forest and floodplain area.

Smoke can already be seen from different parts of the region. The Fire Department said it had not been called to respond to a fire in the area, but sent a team of firefighters to inspect the site and begin fighting the flames.

According to residents, there are no homes in the immediate vicinity of the fire. The spread of the flames, however, is raising concern over the risk of the fire reaching other areas with homes.

The fire comes amid other reports of fires in the municipality. According to the Fire Panel, 22 fire events were identified in Itacoatiara in September.

To reinforce firefighting efforts, National Force teams were sent to the municipality. The agents are working alongside the Fire Department on incidents in both urban and rural areas.

In the rural area, one of the teams’ main areas of operation was the Rio Arari region. Firefighters, agents from the Municipal Department of the Environment, Civil Defense officials and residents worked for two days, mainly in the Ebenézer and Livramento communities.

Amazon Agency