After more than 40 hours, fire at the Iranduba landfill continues this Saturday; smoke spreads across the region

After more than 40 hours, fire at the Iranduba landfill continues Gato Jr/Rede Amazônica The fire at the Iranduba landfill, in the Metropolitan Region of Manaus, continues this Saturday (15), after more than 40 hours of fighting. According to the Amazonas Military Fire Department (CBMAM), teams continue to operate in an area of ??approximately 40 thousand square meters, where the fire remains confined. The fire started on Thursday afternoon (13), in the dump located on the Janauari branch, at kilometer 6 of the AM-070 highway. The smoke generated by the fire has reached nearby communities and can also be seen by drivers traveling through the region. The effects were felt in air quality. This Saturday morning, Iranduba registered 153.8 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m³), an index considered "very bad" by the Selva application, a system at the State University of Amazonas (UEA), which monitors air quality in the state. For comparison, levels considered good are between 0 and 25 µg/m³. ? Join the g1 AM channel on WhatsApp Residents report difficulties staying in the region since the fire started. A resident told Rede Amazônica that she had to send her son to Manaus because of the smoke. According to her, there were reports of children who fell ill during the night and needed to be rescued. Fire in Iranduba landfill continues after more than 24 hours "I had to take it to Manaus and leave it with my grandmother because I couldn't afford to stay here. There are several reports of children who were sick during the night and their friends had to help. This morning too. It's very difficult, very complicated to live here with this smoke", he reported. Another resident stated that many families do not have access to protective masks and demanded support from public authorities to serve the affected communities. "We are protecting ourselves, but many residents do not have masks. In other words, they are even more vulnerable to this situation. We managed to serve a good part of the population with donations from friends, but there are still a lot of people missing. We ask that the municipal and state health departments look carefully at these areas, because we are already on the third consecutive day of this fire", he said. Fighting the fire According to the Fire Department, more than 340 thousand liters of water have already been used in the operation. Ten vehicles and 15 firefighters are still at the scene trying to contain the fires. In an interview with Rede Amazônica on Friday (14), the commander of CBMAM, Colonel Orleilso Muniz, stated that the combat is complex due to the characteristics of the location and could last for several days. "It's a difficult fight, which will certainly last a few days and, in the meantime, we still have gases being released into the atmosphere and polluting the atmosphere. The hardest hit population is in the city of Manaus and the surrounding communities," he said. According to the commander, the fire is considered critical because it occurs deep within the mass of waste accumulated over the years in the dump. "The fire at the landfill here in Iranduba is a critical fire because it is a pile of rubbish that was built in a haphazard way and it burns deep. So for you to have an effective fight you need to remove the trash and use a lot of water with foam-generating liquid. It is a component that we mix with water so that it reaches the flame in depth", he explained. According to firefighters, the foam-generating liquid is used together with water to reach spots that remain burning below the surface of the waste, which makes it difficult to control the fire. The causes of the fire are still unknown. After more than 40 hours, the fire at the Iranduba landfill continues Gato Jr/Rede Amazônica Millionaire fine In the midst of the fire, the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (Ipaam) imposed, on Friday (14), a fine of R$ 2.505 million on the City of Iranduba for atmospheric pollution caused by the burning of solid waste in the open air. According to Ipaam, the fine is based on Federal Law No. 12,305/2010, which establishes the National Solid Waste Policy, and Federal Law No. 9,605/1998, known as the Crimes Law. Environmental. The City of Iranduba has 20 days to pay the fine, present an administrative defense or express interest in a conciliation process “During the inspection, the team found the burning of waste in the open, a practice prohibited by environmental legislation. Based on this finding, the Institute adopted the planned administrative measures and will continue to monitor compliance with environmental obligations related to the area", stated the CEO of Ipaam, Gustavo Picanço. The Iranduba landfill has a history of environmental irregularities and has been monitored by the institute for at least three years due to problems related to the disposal of solid waste. Even before the fire recorded this week, the area had already been the target of environmental fines and fines. Fire at the Iranduba landfill - August 14, 2026 Disclosure/Ipaam