Sugar cane fields are ravaged by wildfires in Brazil's southeast

On Saturday, wildfires spread through sugarcane fields of northern Sao Paulo State. The smoke clouds that accompanied the fires covered the nearby towns to such an extent that officials banned outdoor sports.

Due to a ban, the Brazilian Championship soccer match in Ribeirao Preto was cancelled. This city is located in the westernmost region of Sao Paulo.

Due to poor visibility, some state highways have been closed. Local TV showed images of dead cattle in fields that died from heat and smoke.

"Firefighters are unable control the fires." "We can't do anything", farmer Silvio Dantas, 56 told, as a gray-white column of smoke rose to the horizon.

The fire destroyed homes, killed cattle and burned down plants. "This is tough," he said.

The Sao Paulo Government said that 36 cities are on "high alert" because of fires spreading during the peak dry season, when the fields are parched and the temperatures high.

Tarcisio de Freitas of Sao Paulo, the governor who created an emergency task force for dealing with the crisis, said: "We will charter planes to spray fire department aircraft in addition to our own."

Two firefighters were killed on Friday in Urupes near Ribeirao preto while trying to put out fires in a nearby sugar mill. The area was destroyed by 200 hectares.

Raizen, world's largest processor of sugarcane, announced that operations at its plant in Sertaozinho have been suspended since Thursday because of fires in sugarcane fields.

Smoke filled the skies in Sao Paulo (350 km south), Brazil's biggest city, on Friday but cleared up on Saturday.

Brazil's wildfires season peaks typically in August and Septembre. The wildfire season in Brazil peaks in August and September. This year, however, wildfires began unusually early, starting in Pantanal in late May. Meanwhile, data from the government showed that the number of fires within the Amazon rainforest reached a record high of two decades in July. (Reporting and editing by David Gregorio; Alberto Alerigi Jr., Anthony Boadle)

(source: Reuters)