The fires that have ravaged the Pantanal for weeks now threaten one of the largest hotels in the region. Cornered by the flames, the Sesc Porto Cercado hotel removed some employees while firefighters, brigades and military personnel try to create a barrier to protect the structure from the flames.
On the highway-park leading to the hotel, located 145 km from Cuiabá, flames consume vegetation on both sides of the road. In some places, the smoke is so dense that it obscures the sun and reduces visibility to a few meters.
“The risk is great, very great,” said 1st Lieutenant of the Fire Department Rodrigo Alves Bueno 41, who came from Mato Grosso do Sul to help the fight against fire.
The main job of the day was to wet the vegetation closest to the hotel, a massive structure with 142 rooms on the Cuiabá River banks. In the early afternoon, the flames were about 750 meters from the edge of the hotel.
The objective is to create a protection arc against the fire front, of about 3 km. A plane with a capacity of 3,000 liters made dozens of flights pouring water around the hotel, which has 142 rooms and a maximum capacity for 430 people. It is the largest hotel in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso and the second largest in the entire Pantanal region.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon