Portugal remains on alert until Wednesday due to fires

Portugal will remain at special readiness level 4 until Wednesday, when it will be reassessed. The alert situation has also been extended until Wednesday, which means that bans on access to and movement in forest areas, burning and controlled burning, the use of fireworks and work in forest areas will remain in effect. The information was provided by the national commander of Emergency and Civil Protection.

The Piódão-Arganil fire, which has spread to Covilhã and Fundão, is the one that causes the most concern to the authorities, who are also facing significant fires in Poiares (Freixo de Espada à Cinta), Sabugal, Mirandela and Tarouca. The incident with the most personnel involved is the first one, says Mário Silvestre.

At a press conference, the head of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority also urged the population affected by the fires to take special care, emphasising the Arganil-Piódão fire, whose “speed of spread can quickly put people at risk”.

In a statement in which the prime minister, who has been criticised in recent days for his silence on the fires, was in the front row, Mário Silvestre took stock of the fires and pointed to the regions of Tâmega e Sousa and Alto Minho as the most worrying. “2,206 personnel, 744 vehicles and 23 aircraft are engaged in these active fires”, he explained.

In addition to these personnel, there are 1,502 people, 497 vehicles and 12 aircraft involved in the 27 incidents in the resolution, completion and surveillance phases. In total, 3,708 personnel are involved. “The rest of the equipment remains ready and available for all initial attack missions, which is what has allowed us to have initial attack success rates of 96%”, he said.

Regarding the authorities’ strategy, he explained that “these fires are managed”. “Opportunities are sought, people are safeguarded. As opportunities arise, we fight them, we close them down, mainly using indirect combat, so that when the fire reaches those fronts, those areas where we are working indirectly, we have the capacity to extinguish them”, he added.

Last night, four major fires were extinguished. The authorities are “balancing resources” between the fires that are being extinguished and those that are of most concern, said Mário Silvestre. “We have been fighting fires for more than 20 consecutive days”, he said, noting that, in view of the fatigue of the firefighters, the Red Cross had provided around 500 beds for them to rest in during the Piódão fire.

On Sunday, there were 84 incidents, 81 of which were tackled in the first 90 minutes.