On the Frontier of Devastation in Brazil: Fire Surrounds Families and the Disappearance of a Lake Leaves Communities Iso

[Judi Lynn]

On the Frontier of Devastation in Brazil: Fire Surrounds Families and the Disappearance of a Lake Leaves Communities Isolated

Reserve in Rondônia keeps burnin g, with flames reaching settlers' homes, while a lake in the Madeira River, in southern Amazonas, reaches a critical level

Sep.19.2024 2:15PM

Vinicius Sassine and Lalo de Almeida

CUJUBIM (RO) and HUMAITÁ (AM)
The uncontrolled fire consumed everyth ing within a 10 km radius and surrounded the home of farmers Roberto Anacleto, 56, and Ana Bilenq, 52. They found themselves 15 meters from the flames. A hastily made firebreak holds back the spread to their doorstep. The fires never stop. Everything has been burning for weeks, and the couple must stay home to keep the flames at bay. Roberto and Ana live in the Soldado da Borracha Ecological Station, 70 km from Cujubim (RO), a town 220 km from the capital Porto Velho. The fire in the state conservation unit, uncontrolled since July, is responsible for the main waves of smoke in Rondônia, where the air has become dangerously unbreathable.



Cujubim, RO. 04/09/2024. The couple Roberto Gomes Anacleto and Ana Bilenq at the window of their house on their farm located within the Soldado da Borracha Ecological Station in Rondônia. ( Foto: Lalo de Almeida/ Folhapress ).


Poor families in Soldado da Borracha, with profiles very different from large invaders and land grabbers who burn everything in the station to secure pasture for cattle and land possession, are isolated by the fire.

The relentless drop in the Madeira River, reaching levels never before recorded, creates a cascading effect for streams and lakes that depend on the volume of this main tributary of the Amazon River. The Madeira is drying up in the Porto Velho and Humaitá (AM) region, cities 200 km apart, and the lakes are disappearing with it. Damião da Conceição, 54, and Edilene Alves, 49, don’t know what to do.

They live in a community on Lake Carapanatuba. In a boat with a good motor, the trip across the lake and the stream connecting it to the Madeira River, when there is wate r, takes 40 minutes. In the historic drought of 2024, the journey takes no less than 4 hours. More rustic and smaller boats, with engines that can operate in a 20 cm sheet of water, are needed. If the lake's volume drops to 10 cm, it will become impassable, say the most experienced boatmen in the region. And they believe this will happen in a matter of days. Damião and Edilene are trying to get help for Antônio Ferreira, 74, her father, who was born in a community on Lake Carapanatuba, where he has lived all his life. In poor health, he urgently needs medical assistance. Everyone is isolated by the drought.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/scienceandhealth/2024/09/on-the-frontier-of-devastation-in-brazil-fire-surrounds-families-and-the-disappearance-of-a-lake-leaves-communities-isolated.shtml