Ten cities in the North and Central-West regions account for 20.5% of the fires that have hit the country since the beginning of the year, according to a survey by the Burnings Program, from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). 
Located in the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará and Rondônia, these municipalities account for 39,247 fires out of the 190,943 outbreaks registered across Brazil, from January 1st until this Wednesday (18).
The city with the highest number of fires is São Félix do Xingu, in Pará, with 6,474 fires. In second place is Altamira, in the same state, with 5,250 fires. Next are: Corumbá (MS), 4,736 fires; Novo Progresso (PA), 4,598; Apuí (AM), 4,308; Lábrea (AM), 3,723; Itaituba (PA), 2,973; Porto Velho (RO), 2,710; Colniza (MT), 2,277; and Novo Aripuanã (AM), 2,198 fires.
Beto Mesquita, a member of the Strategic Group of the Brazil Climate Coalition, points out that nine of the cities are in the Amazon, with the exception of the municipality of Corumbá, located in the Pantanal. “Although there have been many fires in the Cerrado, when we notice the hot spots, we notice that they are still very concentrated in the Amazon,” he says.
According to him, seven of the ten cities with the most fires are also on the list of municipalities that deforested the most in 2023, according to data from the Brazilian Amazon Forest Monitoring Program by Satellite (Prodes), from Inpe. They are: Altamira, Corumbá, São Félix do Xingu, Porto Velho, Apuí, Lábrea and Colniza.
“Fires are the new vectors of destruction, perhaps trying to escape the remote sensors that detect deforestation. As a result, when areas are opened up, it is more difficult to detect extraction, for example, of more valuable wood. This is a challenge for federal and state governments, which need to better understand these dynamics in order to prepare themselves with the most appropriate strategies for combating, monitoring and preserving them,” says the specialist.
Minister Flávio Dino, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), determined this Thursday (19) that six states in the Amazon explain the reasons for the concentration of 85% of fire outbreaks in just 20 municipalities in the region. The statement must be sent within 30 days.
