A year after the Brazilian Government dismissed studies warning that parts of the Amazon rain forest were becoming so dry they could burn uncontrollably, fires have become a greater threat than ever to intact rain forest and to indigenous people, according to environment groups that monitor the Amazon. The fires are set to clear land for grazing and planting, but are burning out of control at an alarming rate, environment groups say, due in large part to the drying effect of El Nino. The number of fires has more than doubled since last year, according to the Government's own figures. Last year, 7800 square miles (20,200 square kilometres) of rain forest caught fire, the Woods Hole Institute, in Massachusetts, said.