Juqueri: Fire and Hope

Juquery State Park, in the municipality of Franco da Rocha, São Paulo, was hit by a catastrophic bushfire that started on August 2022 and lasted four days. The last remnant of savanna in the São Paulo metropolitan region lost most of its vegetation, leaving already threatened animals in an even more fragile situation. It was the largest fire ever recorded at the site.
The blaze was caused by an unmanned balloon—a criminal practice in Brazil—that fell inside the park. Firefighters and volunteers battled the flames for three days until the fire was brought under control on the 24th, preserving only a few areas. New outbreaks appeared in the following days but were quickly contained.
Alongside firefighting efforts, fauna monitoring and rescue operations were carried out in the park and surrounding areas, where many animals sought refuge. In the days after the fire, dozens of animals were found dead or in a vulnerable state.