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A fire has been consuming, since Friday (2), the vegetation of the Itacolomi State Park, in Minas Gerais. Officially created in 1967 and whose biome is the Atlantic Forest, it covers the municipalities of Ouro Preto and Mariana and has an area of 7,543 hectares, an area slightly larger than that of the city of Búzios (RJ), for example.
This Monday (5), there are two fires -one of them in an area near the Mariana water catchment-, which began to be fought during the night, according to the Fire Department. The causes are unknown.
The other source of fire is located in a valley near the Itacolomi peak, one of the highlights of the park, with 1,772 meters of altitude and which, in the past, was used as a reference for travelers from Estrada Real.
In the first outbreak, detected on Friday, 16 park employees, 5 hired brigade members, 1 volunteer brigadier, 4 civil policemen, 6 military policemen and 16 members of the Fire Department are involved. Two helicopters are being used, one from the Military Police and the other from the Civil Police.
In the second, which began on Monday, 10 soldiers from the Fire Brigade and 4 contracted brigadiers are involved, in addition to helicopters.
The park is home to many springs hidden in the forest, many of which flow into the Gualaxo do Sul River, a tributary of the Doce River.
In addition to the abundant vegetation, the park is home to rare and endangered animals, according to the Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainable Development, such as the maned wolf, peacock, jaguar and collared swift, as well as species of monkeys, armadillos, pacas and capybaras. There are more than 200 species of birds, including turkeys, siriemas and hummingbirds.
In addition to Itacolomi, other fires were recorded in the forests of Minas Gerais on Monday.
According to the IEF (State Forestry Institute), occurrences were recorded in the state parks of Pau Furado (Uberlândia), Serra da Candonga (Ganhães), Sagarana in Arinos, Biribiri, in the Rei do Mato (Sete Lagoas) natural monuments and in the environmental protection areas Río Pandeiros (Bonito de Mina) and Pandeiros (Januária).
In Serra do Cipó, combat teams are working on four fronts, the largest of which is in Serra de Confins, according to the state government.
In Belo Horizonte, a fire struck the Ursulina de Andrade Mello municipal park, and the fight was carried out by the park’s firefighters and brigade members.
There was also a fire in the Serra da Moeda, a rugged and closed forest region, the fire of which was controlled by firefighters in the morning.
