SAO PAULO, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Brazil's top sugar and

ethanol producer Raizen said on Friday that

industrial operations at its Santa Elisa plant in Sao Paulo

state have been halted since Thursday due to fires in sugarcane

fields around the plant.

The company said it had to evacuate workers from the plant,

one of its largest in the country, on Thursday due to the fires,

and it has not been able to resume operations yet as subsequent

fires were reported. It added there were no victims.

Raizen, the world's largest sugarcane processor, did not

disclose the output capacity of the plant, which is one of the

more than 30 it owns, although a handful of them were not

currently active.

The company said authorities had brought the fire under

control on Thursday, but fire outbreaks were seen again on

Friday.

"Industrial operations will be resumed as soon as it is safe

for our employees," Raizen said.

The unit's biomass storage and some equipments were among

the areas hit by the fire, according to another statement from

Raizen, dated Thursday. It did not provide details on the

affected equipment.

There is an increase in fires on cane fields this year in

Brazil due to very dry conditions after months of just a few or

no rains.

Datagro consultancy said that until the end of July, the

number of fires were 60% higher when compared to the same period

a year ago.

It added that although the burned cane can still be

harvested and processed, losses could be reported depending on

the sugarcane's stage of development, while in fields where

harvesting was already completed the fire can delay new

plantings, though these cases have not been common.