Sao Paulo, Brazil - August 27, 2024

The wildfires that burned through Brazil's southeastern state of Sao Paulo all weekend left a vast swathe of charred farmland in the city of Ribeirao Preto, one of the worst hit areas, with clouds of smoke still spreading as some extinguished fires reignited on Tuesday.

Governor of Sao Paulo state Tarcisio de Freitas said on Monday that the wildfires have been largely brought under control. More than 30,000 hectares of vegetation have been destroyed in the blazes, along with significant damage to homes and the loss of numerous livestock, the governor said.

Some local residents said they had never seen such massive wildfires before.

Since August 25, the Brazilian military has dispatched nearly 500 soldiers and six helicopters to the Ribeirao Preto to work alongside firefighters to help tackle the fires.

Shotlist:
Sao Paulo, Brazil - Aug 27, 2024:
1. Aerial shots of clouds of smoke, burnt farmland;
2. Various of burnt farmland, shot from moving vehicle;
3. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Carolina, Sao Paulo resident:
"As it burned nearby, I could smell the burning. It was hard to breathe, as there was a lot of smoke, a lot of smoke. You couldn't stay outdoors.";
4. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Jose Claudio Oliveira, Sao Paulo resident:
"My throat swelled up, not just mine, but also my wife's, my grandson's, my daughter's. There's a son here today who still has irritated eyes from all the smoke we breathe here.”;
5. Various of Sao Paulo State Military Police sign, helicopter;
6. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Thiago Adolfo, first lieutenant, aviation command unit, Sao Paulo State Military Police:
"We go with the fire department personnel on board to conduct reconnaissance so that the firefighters can assess the situation, and find whether there are new fires. We also use buckets to fetch water in flight and dump it on the fire to combat this vegetation fire.";
Sao Paulo, Brazil - Aug 24-27, 2024
7. Aerial shots of clouds of smoke, wildfires.

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