Fires Rage in South-Central Brazil
9/5/99
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Fires Rage in South-Central Brazil
Source: Associated Press
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: September 5, 1999
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) _ Thousands of brush fires are burning in
south-central Brazil, cutting power to key cities and sending
residents to hospitals with respiratory ailments, according to news
reports Sunday.
The state of Mato Grosso do Sul announced it was considered a state
of emergency with more than 2,700 raging in open country, the O Globo
newspaper reported. The blazes reportedly burned through power lines,
cutting off energy to parts of 10 cities.
On Saturday, Mato Grosso, the state just to the north, declared a
state of emergency as 11,000 fires burn unchecked.
It has not rained in Mato Grosso do Sul, a state of 2 million people
bordering Paraguay and Bolivia, for the last 60 days.
The airport at Corumba, 800 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro, has
been shutdown for the last eight days due to lack of visibility from
the smoke, O Globo reported.
Authorities in Mato Grosso do Sul state could not be reached for
comment on the report.
September is the burning season in Brazil, when farmers and ranchers
set fire to brush to clear land for planting or pasture. But with dry
conditions, the blazes easily burn out of control.