There have been over 72,000 forest fires in the Amazon rainforest in the year of 2019, being nearly an 80 percent jump compared to the numbers that Brazil experienced over the same time period in 2018, according to statistics from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). But out of all those fires, there is one that has had its biggest effect on Brazil, burning more than 7,200 square miles, destroying the homes of both humans and animals, and releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere. The fire is so large, that the smoke has reached Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, causing their sky to blacken.  In addition, the fires in the Amazon, Mato Grosso, and Rondônia can be seen from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s weather satellite. 

   Most news sources and people hadn’t heard about the fire until about two weeks after it had commenced. “I first heard about the fires about two weeks ago. The first thought that came to mind was about the poor, exotic animals who are losing their lives and their homes,” Karen Carrillo (11) said.

   Some people believe that the cause of the fires is because the dry season, while some conservationists blame Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, saying that he has been encouraging loggers and farmers to clear the land. The reason that people believe this is because as soon as Bolsonaro took presidency, in January of this year, they started to notice an increase in forest fires.