Amazon blazes burn forest, farmland and threaten homes

Smoke billows from a fire in an area of the Amazon jungle which burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil August 16, 2020. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

PORTO VELHO, Brazil (Reuters) - Residents and firefighters in northwestern Brazil are battling fires that are raging in the Amazon, destroying farmland and threatening their homes.

The blazes, that occur every year in the dry season, sent clouds of smokes billowing into the sky that could be seen and smelt from the capital of Rondonia state 24 miles (38 km) away.