A large fire hit the Guariba indigenous community, located in the municipality of Amajari, north of Roraima. The flames came close to houses and destroyed crops, chicken coops, three pigsties and two sheds belonging to residents in the region.
The community's tuxaua, Leonardo Sousa, told g1 this Tuesday (3) that residents worked for almost eight hours straight to fight the flames, between 2:30 pm and 10:30 pm. During the action, some residents suffered burns to their feet, arms and hands, in addition to smoke inhalation.
Videos recorded the rush of adults and children in an attempt to contain the flames. The images show the fire that spread throughout the region and residents, panting, with buckets of water in their hands.
"We lost two plantations: one of 400 buriti trees and the other of 200 trees, where they were already almost 70 cm high. There were two projects lost by the school and community. And plants from our own house, such as fruit plants, banana plantations and four areas of cassava. We managed to defend our corn plantation", reported the tuxaua.
Currently, Roraima is facing a dry period. Until this Monday (2), the state had registered 2,473 outbreaks since the beginning of the year, according to data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
Guariba is located about 138 km from the capital Boa Vista and is made up of indigenous peoples from the Macuxi, Wapichana, Taurepang and Ingarikó peoples. At least 93 families live in the region.
'The entire community was left in smoke'
The fire that hit the region started in the neighboring community of Araçá. The flames advanced for around 15 kilometers until reaching the Guariba community. According to the tuxaua, the drought left streams and lakes without water, which eliminated natural barriers that could hinder the spread of the fire.
"The entire community was in the smoke. We managed to finish the fight between 10 am and 10:30 pm. It was a feeling of despair, including the children running to try to get out of the center of the smoke", recalled Leonardo.
The day after the fire, teams from the Amajari Municipal Civil Defense went to the community to carry out an inspection and eliminate possible sources of reignition. According to Chaguinha Soares, coordinator of the municipality's Civil Defense, the work is to prevent the flames from spreading again.
"More than seven houses are at risk of being burned. Thanks to the unity of the residents, they managed to save," said the coordinator.
Burnt buriti planting
The buriti trees consumed by the flames were part of a reforestation project developed by the community in partnership with the local school, according to the tuxaua. He also reported that the fire destroyed around 50 purple ipê trees.
"They burned the adult trees [of buriti], which were between 8 and 10 years old, they were about to bear fruit, but they were lost," he said, adding that the community has not yet mapped the total size of the burned area.
The idea of the environmental project is to recover natural areas through the planting of fruit and medicinal species.
"The community and the school have a reforestation project implemented by CIR. Today, we continue the initiative with the planting of seedlings and seeds of natural species, such as fruit and medicinal plants. With the school's participation, we plant them monthly or every three months, in appropriate locations", he explained.
Roraima has been in an emergency situation due to drought since September, following a decree from the state government. The measure was taken amid the effects of El Niño in the state.
