Heat and soot make the air capable of conducting an electric current between the mains and the ground or between the wires. This causes the grid to shut down and the power to go out.  

Power outages occur not only in the region of the fire, but also in many others. It can affect schools, banks, stores, hospitals and many other institutions.  Students are left without classes; the sick are left without care in hospitals; workers are left without jobs; residents and local businesses are left without power. Everyone suffers from the lack of energy that can be caused by fires. 

Power lines can also deteriorate faster in the heat and broken wires can hit people who are close to the plantations, causing fatal accidents. You need to be vigilant for your own safety!

If a fire breaks out in the electrical network, it should not be extinguished with water. The safest course of action is to call the Fire Brigade on 193 and contact the energy distributor in your state.

What are the causes of fires? 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recognizes the main causes of fires: 

• Arsonists: fires set by people on other people's property for no specific reason; 

• Smokers: fires caused by people disposing of cigarettes incorrectly;

• Clearing fires: these are usually carried out by farmers and ranchers in pasture or agricultural areas to renew the soil and introduce mineral salts released by the practice;

• Country fires: caused by people camping or in the countryside carrying out some activity and making a fire, which can spread;

•  Forestry operations: fires caused by workers in the forest, who use fire for some purpose, such as signaling or preparing food;

• Railroads: fires caused directly or indirectly by activities on railroads; 

• Lightning: electrical discharges can cause direct or indirect fires in nature or in pasture areas; 

•  Miscellaneous: fires that do not fit into the previous groups; fires that occur rarely or uncommonly.   

​What are the consequences of burning? 

The consequences of fires are generally harmful to both the environment and human health. Imagine that a forest is completely destroyed by fire. Directly, the fire will cause environmental destruction of the entire area, losing all wildlife and natural wealth. 

Indirectly, fires also emit large quantities of polluting gases and smoke that are bad for your health when inhaled, causing respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, sinusitis and rhinitis. Everyone is exposed to this problem, as the winds carry the smoke many kilometers away, affecting the entire population of the planet.

This emission of gases and smoke also affects the environment and contributes to global warming and the greenhouse effect. These gases increase the temperature of planet Earth, causing various negative effects, such as an imbalance in the water cycle, with a lack of rainfall in various regions of the world and rising ocean levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps. 

Why are there so many fires in Brazil?

There is a large number of fires in Brazil, mainly in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Some factors have led to an increase in fires in Brazil, such as the advance of deforestation and the expansion of pasture areas and economic activities linked to agriculture. 

Another factor influencing the spread of wildfires across Brazil is the dry, hot weather experienced in many parts of the country between August and September. 

Most of the time, these fires are caused by criminal human action. Fires are often started by farmers in pasture areas, to renew pastures, and by groups that cause deforestation to eliminate undergrowth and remove wood for sale. 

According to the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), all six Brazilian biomes have suffered from these actions, but the Amazon, Pantanal and Cerrado are the ones that have suffered the most from fires.