File:Fires in the Amazon (MODIS 2024-02-22).jpg

English: On February 20, 2024, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of widespread fires blazing in the Amazon. The image is centered on large and abundant fires in the state Roraima, in northern Brazil. Red “hot spots” and heavy smoke mark actively burning fires.

Roraima is drained by the Branco River, which flows into the Negro River. The state is rich in rainforest as well as woodland savanna. The savanna is extensively used for cattle ranching and agriculture. Although sparsely populated, much of the land and rainforest is protected in reserves, many of which also are the core homeland for Indigenous people of the region.

Many of the fires appear to be burning at the edge of the forest or even within the deep green rainforest, which suggests that they are within the protected homeland and reserves. Given the time of year, widespread nature, and location, such fires can often be assumed to be agricultural in nature, which means they may have been deliberately lit to manage agricultural land, including clearing forests to open new pasture or cropland. However, this year’s dry season has seen little rain and winds have been blustery over the last several weeks, which means even small fires can easily escape control to become devastating wildfires.

At least one blaze in Roraima has been reported as a forest fire (i.e., a fire that is burning out of control) by the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS). They give February 10 as the start date of the fire and advise that it has burnt 25,463 hectares as of February 20. The media company Amazon Agency reports that forest fires have caused the government to declare emergencies in three cities in Roraima, and that Indigenous firefighters are responding to the blazes. That report also states that, “The state Civil Defence says that most of the fires are criminal, caused by the incorrect disposal of rubbish and the use of fire to clear land.”