The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) announced, this Friday (9), the sending of six more aircraft and 290 firefighters to reinforce the fight against forest fires in Amazonas. The reinforcement occurs amid the worsening of fires in the state and after a disagreement between the federal government and the Amazonas Military Fire Brigade (CBMAM) over the offer of support to tackle the fire.
According to the ministry, four Air Tractor model planes, used to release water, and two helicopters will be made available. The ministry informed that the objective is to continue actions to combat forest fires in the state.
According to the MMA, since the start of the fire season, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) has extinguished 229 fires in Amazonas and continues to work to combat another 20 active fires.
The department did not say where the operations are concentrated. The federal government also maintains operations to monitor and combat fires.
The announcement occurred hours after the CBMAM commander, Colonel Orleilso Muniz, stated, this Friday (9), that the federal government denied a request for support to fight forest fires in the state.
In a statement, the ministry contested the statement and reported that the Amazon government had requested help in September, but dismissed a federal team before moving to the field.
The divergence came to light during Muniz's interview with Jornal do Amazonas 1st Edition, from Rede Amazônica. At the time, the commander said that the corporation had requested aircraft to fight fires, including in areas under federal responsibility.
"We have already had negative feedback, which it would not be possible to support. I reinforce and appeal once again: the state of Amazonas needs to join forces with the Federal Government to carry out a qualified confrontation", he stated.
To g1, the firefighters sent two letters containing the request for resources to help fight forest fires, requested from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, on September 18th, and the ministry's response, signed on October 1st.
In response, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security reported that it could not respond to the request at that time. According to the document, the National Public Security Secretariat did not have equipment of this type available for donation and indicated alternatives for obtaining federal resources.
The request, signed by Muniz, mentions the need for four aircraft to fight the fire, one aircraft to transport teams and equipment and resources for the purchase or rental of vehicles.
According to the MMA, on September 23, the Integrated Multi-Agency Center for Federal Operational Coordination (Ciman Federal), coordinated by Ibama, received a request for support from the government of Amazonas. In response, fighters from the Response Project in Integrated Actions for Action in Disaster Situations (Respad) and an aircraft from the Aircraft Management Project for Emergency and Relief Situations (Pegasus) were deployed.
The ministry reported that, on September 30, after rain contributed to controlling the fire outbreaks, the state government announced that it no longer needed Respad's support. As a result, the federal team was dismissed before moving to work in the field.
The ministry also stated that it instructed the state government to request resources through the National Civil Protection and Defense System (SINPDEC) to expand its capacity to respond to fires. So far, according to the ministry, the request has not been formalized.
In addition to combat actions, the federal government reported that it supports Amazonas through the ProAmazon project, financed by the Amazon Fund with R$45 million. According to the MMA, payments were made in January 2025 and March 2026, with resources intended to strengthen the structure of the Fire Department and actions to prevent and combat forest fires and unauthorized burning.
The announcement of reinforcement to work in Amazonas comes amid the worsening situation in the state. This Saturday (10), smoke once again covered Manaus for the third consecutive day, and the concentration of particles reached 209.1 µg/m³ in one of the monitored points in the capital of Amazonas.
The index exceeds by 736.4% the limit of 25 µg/m³ used by the Electronic Environmental Surveillance System (Selva), of the State University of Amazonas (UEA), to classify air quality as good.
At around 6 am, the sensor installed at the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema), in the Central-South Zone, registered 209.1 µg/m³, a level classified as terrible. In the central region of the city, the concentration reached 164.1 µg/m³, while the sensor in Morro da Liberdade recorded 157.2 µg/m³. The three points had air quality that was considered terrible.
