Debora dos Santos Avila slammed firefighters over the death of her five-month-old baby in 2020, when she says he succumbed to smoke inhalation from the worst-ever flames in Brazil’s Pantanal.
But this year, as new record infernos erupt in the world’s largest tropical wetlands, the grieving mother is on the front lines battling the flames in a region stricken by drought.
“I didn’t like firefighters at first. I hated them because of what happened to my son. I had to blame someone,” she said.
“But then I went to them to understand how they work, and now it’s been two years since I became a volunteer firefighter.”
Dos Santos Avila said her baby died of smoke inhalation, without giving further details, during a record year for fires that affected 30 percent of Brazil’s Pantanal.
“Many children are affected by the smoke. And I want to do everything I can to alleviate this problem,” said the woman, who works as a cook for an NGO when she is not called to fight fires.
This year, the fires have gotten out of control before the peak of the dry season.
“Last year at this time we were doing prevention in schools, but we were not yet mobilized for direct combat” of the flames, Dos Santos Avila said.
In the first half of this year, satellites recorded more than 3,400 fires in the region, 33 percent more than in 2020.
Experts say the fires are the result of severe drought linked to climate change and that deliberate fires – intended to expand agricultural land – are spiraling out of control.
– ‘We are all equal’ –
Dos Santos Avila is the only woman among the 45 volunteer firefighters in Corumba, a city considered the gateway to the Pantanal. She has undergone six months of training for the role.
“My colleagues do not discriminate. When it comes to flames, we are all equal,” she said.
The Pantanal, which extends into Bolivia and Paraguay, is home to millions of caimans, parrots, giant otters and the highest density of jaguars in the world.
Seasonal flooding of plains, swamps, savannas and woodlands during the rainy season is crucial for the biodiverse ecosystem.
Clad in protective gear, Dos Santos Avila uses a machete to hack through the bushes toward the relentless heat of a raging inferno that stretches for seven kilometers (four miles).
When she gets near the flames, she uses a leaf blower to spread the decomposing organic material that serves as kindling for the spreading fire.
Danger is always present. The wind can change the direction of the fire at any time.
The team gets the fire under control with the help of water bombers. Then it’s time to turn the earth over to ensure that no embers remain, a long and grueling job.
About a hundred firefighters from elsewhere in Brazil will arrive on Thursday to lend a hand, said Marcio Yule of fire prevention program Prevfogo.
The state of Mato Grosso do Sul has declared a state of emergency and the federal government has announced that it will deploy soldiers to fight the fires.
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