Portugal|The director of the regional administration believes that the fire was started on purpose.
Nearly 200 firefighters tried to extinguish a large wildfire on the island of Madeira in Portugal on Sunday. The news agency Reuters and the Portuguese iltäpäivälehti report on the matter, among others Correio da Manhã.
The wildfire that broke out on Wednesday progressed on three fronts on Sunday, and strong winds and a temperature of around 30 degrees made extinguishing work difficult. Newspaper Público reports that at least 160 residents have been evacuated from the path of the fire. On Sunday, however, the fire had not spread to the island’s residences.
The fire has progressed in the area of two municipalities, Ribeira Brava and Câmara de Lobos. Weekly Espresso said that 50 square kilometers of terrain has already burned.
Firefighters on Sunday, there were about 40 vehicles and a helicopter that had to stop flying after dark.
On Saturday, 76 firefighters were brought to the emergency from mainland Portugal, which is about a thousand kilometers from Madeira. On Sunday evening, 15 firefighters from the Azores islands were to arrive, also from about a thousand kilometers away.
“I am sure that this dangerous fire was started by arson in an inaccessible area where air support cannot operate”, Head of the Autonomous Region of Madeira Miguel Albuquerque told reporters, according to Reuters.
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