![[ image: width=150]](/olmedia/65000/images/_67660_fires150.jpg)
![image: [ An area the size of Belgium has been damaged by fire ]](/olmedia/65000/images/_67660_fires300.jpg)
Mr Campos said that after burning unchecked across the most northerly and sparsely populated Brazilian state for more than two months, the fires had advanced.
The blaze, which now has a 400km front, is penetrating virgin rainforest and threatening reservations belonging to the Yanomami Indians - among Brazil's most isolated and endangered tribes.
Most of the affected areas are on the edge of the Amazon jungle where there are farms and plantations belonging to smallholders and peasants.
About 15,000 families are believed to have lost their crops and livelihoods.
But some Yanomami villages have been completely destroyed. Others are said to be trapped, isolated in remote areas accessible only by air.
Roraima, which covers an area the size of Britain, has just eleven fire engines to tackle the blaze.
A BBC correspondent in the Amazon says officials hope to double the number of firefighters to 1,000 by next week.
Argentina is to send in about 100 firefighters, and Venezuela is drawing up a contingency plan as the flames reach within 50km of its southern border.
![[ image: width=150]](/olmedia/65000/images/_67660_fires2150.jpg)
The fires, caused by a severe drought related to the El Nino phenomenon, have been exacerbated by local farmers using traditional cut and burn techniques to clear their land.
Territory the size of Belgium is charred and ruined and scientists say only seasonal rains next month can now stop the destruction.
Some have criticised the government's efforts saying that too little has been done too late.
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's spokesman, Sergio Amaral, was quick to deny this charge.
"There are limits to what we can do," he said, suggesting that the fires are on the scale of an act of God.
Correspondents say the federal government is unwilling to give aid to the sparsely-populated north in what is an election year in Brazil.
Guyana appeals for help to fight forest fires
Forest fires are also burning out of control in the neighbouring country of Guyana, where the government is also appealing for international aid to fight the blazes.
The Guyanese authorities say in particular they need airborne fire-fighting equipment.
An excessively long dry period has led to fires south and west of the capital, Georgetown, threatening people living in savannah and forest areas.
Amazon fires rage on
(15 Mar 98 | World)
Amazon forest fire worsening
(13 Mar 98 | Despatches)
Rainforest fire threatens Amazon Indians
(05 Mar 98 | Despatches)
Rise in destruction of rainforest
(26 Jan 98 | World)
Environmental Protection Agency of Brazil
Rainforest Action Interactive
Amazon Interactive
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