The fight against forest fires in Tocantins has been reinforced by the Armed Forces. The Army sent 190 soldiers to help the Fire Department, firefighters, Civil Defense and state environmental agencies in containing the flames.
The team arrived on Saturday (14) and began work on Sunday (15). The Army members are distributed as follows: 60 of the military personnel specialized in fighting fires went to Bananal Island, the main fire hotspot in the state; 60 work in the metropolitan region of the capital, Palmas; and 40 form a reserve contingent to reinforce the teams. In addition to the specialized team, 30 military personnel provide logistical support for the operation.
The task force to combat forest fires in the state met on Saturday at the Army’s 22nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion in Palmas. The state government participated in the meeting through the Fire Department, the State Civil Defense, the Tocantins Nature Institute (Naturatins), the State Secretariat for the Environment and Water Resources (Semarh) and other agencies involved in the work.
This year, fires have consumed around 250,000 hectares on Bananal Island, a biosphere reserve and one of the most biodiverse areas in the country, located at the confluence of the Cerrado and the Amazon Rainforest. Strong winds that change direction make it difficult to control the flames.
The task force’s biggest concern on Bananal Island at this time is the Mata do Mamão, a habitat for isolated indigenous peoples, where 8,000 hectares have been devastated. Bananal Island is home to three indigenous ethnic groups.
Other tourist attractions in Tocantins have been affected by recent fires. From September 4 to 7, the Jalapão State Park, home to the famous Jalapão Dunes, was closed due to the fire that affected approximately 10,000 hectares in the Serra do Espírito Santo. One of the park’s entrances, Lagoa da Serra, had kiosks destroyed by the fire, which forced the hasty evacuation of a group of tourists from São Paulo.
