The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, confirmed this Sunday (25) that two people were arrested on suspicion of acting in arson attacks in the interior of São Paulo. According to Freitas, one of them was arrested in the region of São José do Rio Preto on Saturday (24). The second, arrested today, in Batatais, is a 42-year-old mechanic, caught by the Military Police after an anonymous tip, while setting fire to a forest near the central region of Batatais.
According to the governor, public security forces are mobilized. “We have three situations: the first is a combination of three factors, which are strong winds, very low relative humidity, prolonged drought and extreme heat. So anything can cause an ignition and we have actually had an almost spontaneous fire generation.”
Intentional burning of garbage and the use of fires to dispose of waste are other risky situations. “We will combat this severely and we will take these people to jail. And the forces are well mobilized to arrest these criminals,” said Freitas.
The state government began a special operation this weekend to combat fires in the interior of São Paulo. Previously, the government had declared a state of emergency for 180 days in 45 municipalities in São Paulo. Today, they are being monitored with alert maximum 46 cities and 21 of them have active fires.
The regions of Ribeirão Preto and São José do Rio Preto are among those most affected by the fires.
