Brazilian blaze: Raging fire destroys Rio de Janeiro national park... and lights up the night sky

A raging fire consumed around 40,000 square metres of vegetation in an environmental park in the south of Rio de Janeiro yesterday

A raging fire consumed around 40,000 square metres of vegetation in a national park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil early yesterday morning.

Firefighters blamed the blaze on mini hot air balloons, released during parties to celebrate the Festas Juninas.


Firefighters blamed the blaze on mini hot air balloons with flaming wicks of wax-coated cotton, released during parties to celebrate the Festas Juninas

The balloons, which contained flaming wicks made of cotton coated in wax, are said to be responsible for half of all Rio's forest fires.
The fire devoured vegetation on the Dos Cabritos hill, which separates the tourist neighbourhoods of Copacabana, Lagoa and Botafogo, in the south of Rio de Janeiro.

No one was injured, but many local residents left their homes at dawn, terrified by the growing flames.

Firefighters brought the fire under control using buckets of water drawn from a nearby pond and flown over the blaze by two helicopters.

The strong wind at night and low humidity hampered the work in the city and increased the chance of further outbreaks.

Yesterday afternoon, flames appeared on the hillside across the hill in Copacabana, and later an outbreak was spotted in an area called Finca.
At dawn, the fire could still be seen raging in the south of the city.

Yesterday morning, Mayor Eduardo Paes visited a leisure area near where firefighters worked, and today he announced that the authorities would put in place an 'emergency plan for reforestation in the area.'

He then flew over the affected area. 'I want to remind people that releasing balloons devastates green areas and endangers aircraft. I call on people to denounce this game.'

The Secretary of State for Health and Civil Defence, Sergio Cortes, followed the work of firefighters during the night and also criticised the practice of releasing balloons.

'I'm sure that the authorities will investigate the causes and punish those responsible with the accuracy required,' he said.

Police yesterday began their probe into the fire. The fire department will provide reports to assist in the investigation of causes of the fire.