Fires in Brazil threaten jaguars, houses and plants in world’s largest tropical wetlands

Firefighters in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands this month celebrated the end of the fire season on Facebook, saying in a Nov. 7 post that “it is a relief for everyone who lives in the region.” They spoke too soon. In the first two weeks of November, fires fueled by unusually dry and hot weather destroyed nearly 1.9 million acres — almost 3,000 square miles — of the world’s largest tropical wetlands, preliminary figures from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro show. “If this continues every year, there won’t be any more — they’ll go away, they’ll find a way, like people and run to the city,” said Leonisio da Silva, a 53-year-old resident of the park. “This is so atypical,” said Renata Libonati, who coordinates the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro’s alert system for fires in the Pantanal. Mato Grosso do Sul state launched a joint task force Tuesday, mobilizing the state’s entire fleet of aircraft to help firefighters, either dropping water on blazes or flying firefighters to the region’s most remote locations.