Fire hits Taquari state park in Mato Grosso do Sul

A fire has been burning for more than twelve days in the Nascentes do Rio Taquari State Park, spreading across the region between Alcinópolis and Costa Rica, an area of difficult access.

Around 3,000 hectares have already been consumed by the flames, according to Martha Gilka Gutiérrez, the park’s manager. The fire has also reached the park’s main headquarters.

According to the Alcinópolis city hall, the situation is critical and the fire remains uncontrolled. Due to the difficult access, firefighting efforts have relied on the support of Fire Department teams, ethanol plant employees, and local farmers. In total, more than 50 people are working to combat the blaze.

The response includes water trucks, heavy machinery, and a Fire Department aircraft. A monitoring center was also established in the region to track the fire.

In addition, teams are using firebreaks, strips of land where vegetation is cleared, to prevent flames from spreading to pastures and buildings, creating a natural barrier against the advance of the fire.

Three hotspots are still burning, and the fire has already destroyed about 10% of the conservation unit’s area. The Alcinópolis city hall reported that there is no estimate yet of the number of animals killed.

The park

The Nascentes do Rio Taquari State Park was created on October 19, 1999, covering an area of 30,000 hectares that spans the municipalities of Alcinópolis and Costa Rica, in the northern region of Mato Grosso do Sul, near the borders with Mato Grosso and Goiás.

The park also protects the source of the Taquari River, one of the main rivers of the Pantanal. It plays an important role in preserving the Cerrado biome, in addition to serving as an ecological corridor between the Cerrado and the Pantanal.

The park is home to archaeological sites with evidence of human occupation dating back up to 11,000 years, including rock paintings found in caves and remnants of the ancient Peabiru routes. These were indigenous trails that once connected Brazil’s coast to the Bolivian plateau and the Andes, crossing present-day Peru.

The word Peabiru, of Tupi-Guarani origin, means “trampled grassy path.” The route was historically used for trade, spiritual pilgrimages, and cultural exchange among indigenous peoples, and later explored by Europeans after the 16th century.