Amazonas, Brazil's largest state and home to a vast share of the Amazon rainforest, registered 1,380 forest fire hotspots in the first ten days of October 2026, according to state fire-monitoring data cited by local outlets ClicRDC and CNN Brasil. That figure is 271% higher than the 372 hotspots recorded in the same ten-day window of 2025.
Of the hotspots detected between October 1 and 10, 1,186 were located in public lands, 93 on private properties and 101 in areas with undefined land status, ClicRDC reported. Separate counts showed 246 hotspots inside federal settlement areas, 116 on indigenous lands and 97 within conservation units; 174 of the fires were classified as linked to deforestation.
State and federal governments declare emergency
Amazonas Governor Roberto Cidade signed a state emergency decree on October 10, hours before the federal Ministry of Integration and Regional Development (MIDR) formally recognized an emergency situation in 36 municipalities of the state, CNN Brasil and the Barcelos na Net news site reported. The recognition was published through a federal ordinance, allowing the release of national resources to support firefighting.
Integration and Regional Development Minister Waldez Góes travelled to Manaus on the evening of October 10 to coordinate the national response, according to CNN Brasil and the Agência Brasil news agency. "Nothing will be lacking: equipment, vehicles, personnel, resources," Góes said, as quoted by Agência Brasil.
Aircraft and firefighters deployed
The Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change said it mobilized 11 aircraft in total: six Air Tractor planes, two KC-390 military transport aircraft, two helicopters for water drops and one Caravan plane for logistics. Two KC-390s were due to land in Manaus on October 11, with firefighting operations from the air scheduled to start October 12, CNN Brasil reported.
More than 290 federal firefighters were already working in Amazonas, including roughly 250 already deployed plus 40 additional federal brigade members sent in, according to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. São Paulo state separately sent reinforcements of 25 military firefighters and five civil defense agents, Agência Brasil and ClicRDC reported.
The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) said it had extinguished 236 fires in Amazonas while continuing to fight 22 active blazes, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change said in a statement.
Dispute over earlier aid request
The ministry's statement said the Integrated Multiagency Coordination Center (Ciman Federal) first received an assistance request from the Amazonas state government on September 23 and deployed personnel from the federal Disaster Response Project (Respad). After rain improved conditions starting September 30, the state declined continued federal support before those teams were fully deployed, according to the ministry.
The ministry also said it had advised Amazonas to submit a formal request through the National Civil Protection and Defense System (SINPDEC), adding that, as of the date of its statement, the state had not filed that formal request. The federal emergency recognition for the 36 municipalities followed days later, on October 10.
Smoke pushes air pollution far above reference levels
Smoke from the fires has blanketed cities across Amazonas and degraded air quality. In the state capital Manaus, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) reached 209.1 micrograms per cubic meter on the morning of October 10, ClicRDC reported — about 736% above the reference standard of 25 micrograms per cubic meter the outlet cited for acceptable air quality. In Itacoatiara, readings reached 2,016.1 micrograms per cubic meter; in Careiro da Várzea, 144.1 micrograms per cubic meter.
Residents in affected municipalities reported breathing difficulties, throat irritation, allergic reactions and disrupted sleep, with particular risk to people with respiratory conditions and older residents, according to ClicRDC.
October 1–10, 2026 fire hotspots in Amazonas by land category| Land category | Hotspots recorded |
|---|
| Public areas | 1,186 |
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| Private properties | 93 |
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| Undefined land status | 101 |
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| Federal settlement areas | 246 |
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| Indigenous lands | 116 |
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| Conservation units | 97 |
|---|
| Classified as deforestation-related | 174 |
|---|
| Total hotspots, Oct 1–10, 2026 | 1,380 |
|---|
| Total hotspots, same period 2025 | 372 |
|---|
Investigations into arson
ClicRDC reported that eight suspects had been identified in connection with fires set in rural areas of Amazonas, including one investigation into a suspected criminal arson incident at Lago do Canaçari in the municipality of Itacoatiara.
Federal funding for firefighting
Since 2024, the federal government has allocated R$45 million through the ProAmazon project, financed by the Amazon Fund, to equip the Amazonas Military Fire Department, with payments made in January 2025 and March 2026, according to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Of that amount, R$34.7 million had been released as of the ministry's statement, with R$10 million more still available. CNN Brasil separately reported that Amazonas received a total of R$372 million in federal disaster-relief funding between 2023 and October 2026, spread across 262 approved work plans.
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