Wildfires affecting 30 cities in Brazil's Sao Paulo state, leave 2 dead

Brazil's Sao Paulo state said that wildfire outbreaks were affecting or closing in on 30 of its cities on Friday evening, adding two people had died in an industrial plant trying to hold back the flames, News.az reports citing Reuters .

The cities have been affected by dry, hot weather in recent days, the government said in a statement.

The state government also warned that forest fires could spread rapidly from gusts of wind, potentially razing large areas of natural vegetation.

For now, the government has not reported flames directly reaching the city of Sao Paulo, Latin America's largest by population with more than 11 million residents.
Still, local media reported smoke blocking out some parts of state capital's sky.

The government said two employees at an industrial plant in the city of Urupes had died on Friday while fighting a fire, without providing more details.

Earlier in the day Raizen (RAIZ4.SA), opens new tab, the world's largest sugarcane processor, said that industrial operations at a plant in Sertaozinho had been halted since Thursday due to fires in sugarcane fields around the plant.

News.Az