Fire in Chapada dos Veadeiros Park Endangered Quilombola Territory

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A fire is spreading through the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, a highland with the largest concentrations of quartz crystals in the world, destroying part of the conservation unit located in the northeast of the state of Goiás.

In a statement published on social media, Rede Contra o Fogo (“Fire Fighting Network”), which includes volunteers, states that the fire has affected approximately 3,000 hectares within the park and another 3,500 hectares around the conservation unit. The State Environmental Police opened an inquiry to investigate the causes of the fire and identify those responsible.

The fire has lasted a week. Since Friday, September 27th, nearly a hundred firefighters, members of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), in addition to volunteers from the Fire Fighting Network, have been working day and night, uninterrupted.

On Friday, September 28th, four tanker planes were used to discharge water and flame retardants, a helicopter, vehicles, drones and all the necessary equipment to try to contain the flames’ progression.

Still according to the Fire Department, one of the mission’s major difficulties results from the extent of the areas affected by the fire. One of the fire lines, in the region of Rio dos Couros outside the national park, has reached a length of about eight kilometers. The rugged terrain makes it difficult for firefighters and volunteers to advance. The scattered rainfall of the past few days has reduced some outbreaks but was insufficient to extinguish the flames.

With about 240,000 hectares (each hectare corresponds roughly to an official soccer field), the park is home to unique plant species and groups, hundreds of springs and waterways and is recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a Natural Heritage of Humanity.

In addition to the national park, the flames have also threatened the largest quilombola territory in Brazil, inhabited by the Kalunga people, in particular in Cavalcante (Goiás). According to the coordinator of the Environmental Volunteer Brigade of Cavalcante, Rafael de Souza Drumond Farias, the rains of the past two days have helped in the efforts, and the fire, which had been advancing very quickly, is now under control.

The Cavalcante Environmental Volunteer Brigade was founded in 2017, the year in which the region was affected by a major fire that destroyed some 90,000 hectares of vegetation. Today, the brigade is formally established as a fire prevention department under the authority of the Association of Ecotourism Conductors of Cavalcante and Surroundings (ACECE).

Earth’s brightest point: quartz crystals

Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is an ancient plateau with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years. Located 2 ½ hours north of Brasília, it has crystal clear rivers, waterfalls over 100 feet high, trails and rock walls.

With altitudes between 600 and 1650 meters, it’s the highest plain in Central Brazil. The highest point of the park and of the State of Goiás is Serra da Santana, at 1691 meters above sea level.

Its rock formations are among the oldest on the planet. There are quartz with outcroppings of crystals. These rocks are exported and much appreciated in Japan and England, where for some decades they were used for industrial work.

Nowadays therapists and nature lovers seek energies and the power to cure from the crystals. The Chapada dos Veadeiros is called “Magnetic Heart” by standing on one of the largest concentrations of quartz crystals in the world!

As if that were not enough, there’s the fact that the 14th Parallel South, the same latitude line that runs through Machu Picchu in Peru, also passes through the park, attracting fantastic stories about extraterrestrials and UFOs. Mystical, esoteric, historians, adventurers and ecotourists live in perfect harmony in these cities, all attracted by the natural magic that surrounds the Chapada dos Veadeiros.

Rumor has it that, according to NASA, the Chapada is Earth’s brightest point as seen from space. Lying on a quartz crystal bed, it’s said to reflect light like a mirror.