Brazilian firefighters battle national park wildfire that is enveloping Brasilia in smoke

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Firefighters on Monday battled flames spreading through a national park in Brazil that is enveloping Brasilia in smoke. It's the latest wildfire in the country, which is experiencing an historic drought.

More than 490 firefighters were trying to extinguish blazes that have already burned through 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) of the conservation area of Brasilia National Park. There are four main fire fronts, all concentrated in the eastern region of the park, according to a statement from ICMBio, the government agency that manages the park.

The fire “spread very quickly because of wind speed, low humidity, and it is very hot,” João Paulo Morita, an ICMBio fire management coordinator, said in a video distributed by the agency.

The situation improved towards the end of the day, Morita said, adding that there were still fires in the woods near the streams. “The job tonight will be to fight these fires that are inside these forests,” he added.

Three aircraft are using water to tackle the flames, and a helicopter is helping to monitor the burned areas, the ICMBio statement said.

Federal Police are investigating the case, as the fire was started by human activity, the statement said, adding that so far there have no reports of injured or rescued animals.

The head of the agency, Mauro Pires, told newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that the fire appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's countryside residence.

Smoke from the fire smothered the capital, Brasilia, on Monday, and columns of black smoke were visible from several points in the city.

Brazil has been enveloped in smoke in recent weeks, as fires rage in the Amazon rainforest, the Cerrado savanna and the Pantanal wetlands. Those uncontrolled, human-made wildfires have ravaged protected areas and spread smoke over a vast expanse, causing air quality to plummet.

The country is also enduring its worst drought since nationwide measurements began more than seven decades ago, with 59% of the country affected — an area roughly half the size of the U.S. Major Amazon basin rivers are registering historic lows.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Instagram that the Federal Police have opened 52 investigations “against those responsible for the crimes against our country,” adding that he would be meeting with Environment Minister Marina Silva to “discuss further actions to deal with this climate emergency.” On Sunday, he did a flyover of the park that's spread across three of the Federal District's administrative regions, including Brasilia, and one municipality in Goias state.

Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino issued a ruling on Sunday authorizing the federal government to direct extra funds toward combating forest fires and hiring firefighters.

Scientists say that climate change — primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal — makes extreme weather more likely, favoring conditions for events such as wildfires and floods.

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Smoke from a fire in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park affects Brasilia, Brazil, early Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire is man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Smoke rises from fires in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park during the dry season in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire was man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Smoke from fires in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park affects Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire is man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Smoke rises from fire in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park during the dry season near Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire is man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A cyclist pedals through the smoke in Brasilia, Brazil, coming from a fire in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park, early Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire is man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Smoke rises from a fire in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park during the dry season in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire was man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Smoke from a fire in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park affects Brasilia, Brazil, before sunrise Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire is man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Fire spreads in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park during the dry season in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire is man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Smoke rises from fire in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park during the dry season in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire is man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

BEIRUT (AP) — Walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in Beirut and multiple parts of Lebanon on Wednesday in an apparent second wave of attacks targeting electronic devices a day after hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, state media and Hezbollah officials said. At least nine people were killed and more than 300 people wounded in the second wave, the Health Ministry said.

The attacks, which were widely believed to be carried out by Israel targeting Hezbollah, have hiked fears that the two sides' simmering conflict could escalate into all-out war.

Speaking to Israeli troops on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance.” He made no mention of the explosions of electronic devices but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”

In Wednesday's attacks, several blasts were heard at a funeral in Beirut for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before, according to Associated Press journalists at the scene. An AP photographer in the southern coastal city of Sidon saw a car and a mobile phone shop damaged after devices exploded inside of them. A girl was hurt in the south when a solar energy system blew up, the state news agency reported.

The new blasts hit a country still roiling with confusion and anger after Tuesday’s pager bombings, which appeared to be a complex Israeli attack targeting Hezbollah members that caused civilian casualties, too. Tuesday’s bombings killed at least 12 people, including two children, and wounded some 2,800 others.

The second wave also deepens concern over the potentially indiscriminate casualties caused in the attacks, in which hundreds of blasts went off wherever the holder of the pager happened to be — in homes, cars, at grocery stores and in cafes, often with family or bystanders nearby.

While the pagers were used by Hezbollah members, there was no guarantee who was holding the device at the time of the blast. Also, many of the casualties were not Hezbollah fighters, but members of the group’s extensive civilian operations mainly serving Lebanon’s Shiite community.

At least two health workers were among those killed Tuesday. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, charity workers, teachers and office administrators work for Hezbollah-linked organizations, and an unknown number had pagers.

The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, called for an independent investigation into the mass explosions. “The fear and terror unleashed is profound,” he said in a statement, urging world leaders to step up “in defense of the rights of all people to live in peace and security.”

Iran-backed Hezbollah — Lebanon's strongest armed force — and Israel's military have exchanged fire almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after a deadly Hamas-led assault in southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza. Since then, hundreds have been killed in strikes in Lebanon and dozens in Israel, while tens of thousands on each side of the border have been displaced. Hezbollah said its strikes are in support of its ally, Hamas.

Israeli leaders have issued a series of warnings in recent weeks that they might increase operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying they must put a stop to the exchanges to allow people to return to homes near the border. Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, according to an official with knowledge of the movements who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In his comments, Gallant said that after months of fighting Hamas in Gaza, “the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with top security officials at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the country's army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the U.S. is still assessing how the attack could affect efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas.

New details on the pager bombings began to emerge. An American official said Israel briefed the United States after the attack, in which small amounts of explosive had been hidden in the devices. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the information publicly.

The AR-924 pagers used in Tuesday's attack were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, which is based in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, according to a statement released by Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese firm that authorized the use of its brand on the pagers.

Gold Apollo's chair, Hsu Ching-kuang, told journalists Wednesday the firm has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years. "But the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” Gold Apollo said in a statement.

At the headquarters of a building in a residential neighborhood of Budapest, the names of multiple companies, including BAC Consulting, are posted on pieces of paper on a window.

A woman who emerged from the building and declined to give her name said the site provides headquarter addresses to various companies.

BAC's parent company is registered to Cristiana Rosaria Bársony-Arcidiacono, whose describes herself on her LinkedIn page as a strategic advisor and business developer.

The Associated Press has attempted to reach Bársony-Arcidiacono via the LinkedIn page and has been unable to establish a connection between her or BAC and the exploding pagers.

The attack in Lebanon started Tuesday afternoon, when pagers in their owners' hands or pockets started heating up and then exploding — leaving blood-splattered scenes and panicking bystanders.

It appeared that most of those hit were members or linked to members of Hezbollah — whether fighters or civilians — but it was not immediately clear if people with no ties to Hezbollah were also hit.

The Health Ministry said health care workers and two children were among those killed. In the village of Nadi Sheet in the Bekaa Valley, dozens gathered to mourn the death of one of the children, 9-year-old Fatima Abdullah.

Her mother, wearing black and donning a yellow Hezbollah scarf, wept alongside other women and children as they gathered around the little girl’s coffin before her burial.

Hezbollah said in a statement Wednesday morning that it would continue its normal strikes against Israel as part of what it describes as a support front for its ally, Hamas, and Palestinians in Gaza.

“This path is continuous and separate from the difficult reckoning that the criminal enemy must await for its massacre on Tuesday,” it said. “This is another reckoning that will come, God willing.”

This story has been updated to correct the age of one of the children killed. She was 9, not 8.

Spike reported from Budapest and Lai from Taipei, Taiwan. Associated Press journalists Abby Sewell and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut; Simina Mistreanu in Taipei; Melanie Lidman and Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Zeke Miller in Washington; and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

A Civil Defense first-responder carries a wounded man whose handheld pager exploded at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Civil Defense first-responders carry a man who was wounded after his handheld pager exploded, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.(AP Photo)

Lebanese soldiers and firefighters gather outside a mobile shop after what is believed to be the result of a walkie-talkie exploding inside it, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A partly damaged car after what is believed to be the result of a walkie-talkie exploding inside it, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

CORRECTS DAY TO TUESDAY WHEN INJURED Lebanese Red Cross ambulance passes next of the families of victims who were injured on Tuesday by their exploding handheld pagers, at the emergency entrance of the American University hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

CORRECTS DAY TO TUESDAY WHEN INJURED Families of victims who were injured on Tuesday by their exploding handheld pagers, wait at the emergency entrance of the American University hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanese security officers stand next of a partly damaged car after what is believed to be the result of a walkie-talkie exploding inside it, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese Red Cross ambulance passes next of the families of victims who were injured on Monday by their exploding handheld pagers, at the emergency entrance of the American University hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Families of victims who were injured on Monday by their exploding handheld pagers, wait at the emergency entrance of the American University hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

This shows a sing featuring the names of several companies on the door of a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria is headquartered in Budapest Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

This photo shows a door of a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria is headquartered in Budapest Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

This photo shows a house where a Hungarian company that allegedly manufactured pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, is headquartered in Budapest Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Civil Defense first-responders carry a man who was wounded after his handheld pager exploded, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.(AP Photo)

Hsu Ching-kuang, chairman of Apollo Gold, talks about the Taiwan company's communication products at the headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

Hsu Ching-kuang, chairman of Apollo Gold, talks about the Taiwan company's communication products at the headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

A police officer inspects a car in which a hand-held pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People gather outside the American University hospital after the arrival of several men who were wounded by exploded handheld pagers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bassam Masri)

Lebanese soldiers stand guard at a street that leads to the American University hospital where they bring wounded people whose handheld pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)