The Rio de Janeiro government reported that more than 20 suspects are being investigated by the police for causing forest fires in the state. Since the governor announced the creation of the crisis cabinet to combat the fires, last Thursday (12), 1,280 forest fires were fought. According to the Fire Department, there are about 80 fire outbreaks in the state.
“There is very clearly human action in the fires. We already have a very robust investigation in this regard,” assessed Governor Cláudio Castro.
“Warrants are already being sought in court, there are videos showing people setting fires in arson. We hope that throughout this week we will have arrests. We will be relentless, we will carry out tough inspections and put these criminals in prison,” he added.
As a safety measure, Cláudio Castro ordered the closure of 40 conservation units on Saturday (14) to protect the population and focus efforts on fighting the fires. There is still no forecast for reopening.
