Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 2:36 PM
At least four people have died and 40 others have been injured as a result of the raging fires that are ravaging much of Portugal, while particularly high temperatures are expected to continue on Tuesday with an “extremely high” risk of meteorological events, according to Portuguese authorities.
Initially, the situation seemed to suggest that the fires would hit the country with much less virulence this year. However, the arrival of easterly winds and a worsening of the weather conditions in recent days has rapidly changed the situation. The fire has hit the central area in particular and to a lesser extent the north, razing in a few days as much land as had already been consumed during the rest of the year.
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) has reported that there are more than one hundred towns at maximum risk of fire. What happened on Monday in districts such as Aveiro and Viseu has not been seen since 2001, while this morning more than 5,000 people have been fighting with 107 active fires.
Among the 40 injured are 33 firefighters. The fire has also forced the evacuation of a hundred people from their homes as a precaution, Lusa news agency reports. In addition, four people have been arrested since Saturday on suspicion of having started one of the fires.
The latest arrest took place on Monday, that of a 47-year-old woman who is accused of having started different fires on 12, 13, 15 and 16 September in the towns of Sebal and Condeixa-a-Nova, in Coimbra.
The lack of resources to deal with the fire is the main complaint of local authorities. Representatives of the most affected localities are meeting this Tuesday in Aveiro with officials from the central government headed by the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida.
“We are not going to stay in Lisbon waiting, now is not the time to give up,” said Almeida, who has committed himself, on behalf of the Government, to find an “urgent” response to this crisis, although it is necessary to verify “the nature” of what is happening in order to be able to act in the best possible way.
Galicia, also affected
The fires in northern Portugal are also affecting several regions in Galicia. The two fires affecting the Ourense municipality of A Gudiña, one active and the other stabilised – still not under control – already exceed 200 hectares, according to the latest update this afternoon from the Consellería do Medio Rural. Specifically, the Pentes fire, which reaches 150 hectares, started at 1:18 p.m. on Monday. It has been stabilised since midnight, and Medio Rural stresses that it is “evolving favourably”.
Eight planes, 10 helicopters, 11 motorized pumps, 15 agents, 24 brigades, four shovels and three technicians are working.
The other fire, in the parish of Barxa, has been active since shortly after midnight on Tuesday and affects a provisional area of 60 hectares. Five planes, seven helicopters, 10 brigades and five motorized fire engines, among others, are working. Ground resources from Portugal are also collaborating.
Meanwhile, the fire in the Ourense municipality of Laza, parish of Trez, which started on Sunday afternoon, remains stable but not yet under control. It affects some 60 hectares. Seven helicopters, four planes, 32 brigades and 19 fire engines, among other means, were mobilized.
Meanwhile, the fire that broke out in the town of Arbo (Pontevedra), in the parish of Mourentán, was extinguished on Monday night after burning 22.7 hectares.
In addition, a fire that started on Monday night in Porto do Son (A Coruña) caused “difficult hours” during the early hours of Tuesday due to its proximity to homes in the parish of Caamaño. The fire, which is now under control, burned 15 hectares.
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