Wildfires in southern Brazil kill 2 people and leave dozens of cities on high alert

SAO PAULO (AP) — Wildfires in Brazil’s southern Sao Paulo state have killed at least two people, officials said Saturday. At least 36 cities have been put on high alert.

Local and federal authorities were stepping up efforts to control the flames, Sao Paulo state Gov. Tarcísio de Freitas said.

The fires have raged in the region outside the city of Sao Paulo, one of Latin America’s most populous cities with more than 11 million residents.

At least 7,300 government workers and volunteers had been deployed across the state to “contain the advance and put out these fires,” de Freitas told journalists. De Freitas warned that the flames, spurred on by a heat wave and a drought, may be fanned by strong winds.

While the city largely hasn’t been affected by the fires, videos on social media show the skies of rural areas filled with smoke and burning trees along the highway.

The government said that in the city of Urupes, two employees working at an industrial plant died on Friday while trying to fight back a fire, but provided few other details.

The region has been plagued with the worst wildfires in decades, according to local news organization Folha de S.Paulo, which counted 4,973 fires in the region just this year.