Trancoso and Sátão fires affect 10 municipalities
The village of Covanca, in Pampilhosa da Serra, will be evacuated due to the worsening of the fire that has been raging since Wednesday in that municipality in the district of Coimbra.
Speaking to Lusa news agency at 9:34 am, the mayor of Pampilhosa da Serra said that the situation in his municipality is worsening, mainly due to adverse weather conditions.
"The fire hasn't given us any rest all night. It's very widespread. We're currently preparing to evacuate the village of Covanca," said Jorge Custódio.
The mayor also explained that Covanca is currently inhabited by around 300 people.
This village is located in the extreme northeast of the municipality of Pampilhosa da Serra and within its limits are the dividing lines of three municipalities, Pampilhosa da Serra, Arganil and Covilhã, consequently of two districts, Coimbra and Castelo Branco.
“The residents will be evacuated to the Unhais-o-Velho fire department facilities,” said Jorge Custódio.
The forest fire that has been burning since this morning in Pampilhosa da Serra came from the neighboring municipality of Arganil, where it broke out in the parish of Piódão, at 5:00 am on Wednesday, allegedly caused by an electrical discharge from the dry thunderstorm that was felt in that area.
The mayor of Arganil assessed the firefighting operations that broke out two days ago, describing a "complete disaster, absolute chaos, and a completely uncontrolled situation" this morning. Speaking to Antena 1 , Luís Paulo Costa said that the intensity of the flames and the evolution of the front lines "smells very much like 2017." It was the worst year ever for fires in Portugal when Pedrógão burned.
Speaking to Rádio Observador , the mayor of Arganil points to "erratic winds" as one of the biggest challenges currently facing the firefighting scene. He also notes that the number of resources "has been fluctuating significantly," stating that when the fire broke out, the "equipment was very robust," but that the situation has now changed.
"What we are currently seeing is a very worrying lack of resources," reveals Luís Paulo Costa, indicating that this reduction in field personnel "is having very severe consequences" in fighting the fire.
The fires that started in Trancoso and Sátão currently affect 10 municipalities and have three very large active fronts, the second regional commander of the Center, Jody Rato, told the Lusa news agency.
"The fires in Trancoso and Sátão were very close, almost interacting. There were areas where they were less than 10 kilometers apart, and in that sense, we absorbed the command, which is now only one and we have 10 municipalities," the field commander, Jody Rato, told Lusa news agency at around 9:00 a.m.
The fire affects the municipalities of Sátão, Sernancelhe, Moimenta da Beira, Penedono and “also already entering” São João da Pesqueira (district of Viseu); Aguiar da Beira, Trancoso, Fornos de Algodres, Meda and Celorico da Beira (district of Guarda).
"There are currently three very large active fronts. One of them is over 20 kilometers wide. The area of greatest concern is in the north, at the head, because that's where it's most intense—that is, in Penedono and São João da Pesqueira," he added.
Jody Rato added that 1,368 firefighters are working throughout the perimeter of this fire, 461 vehicles, with seven more tracked machines, and, at this moment, around 9:00 am, "air resources are being mobilized."
"We currently have four air assets and will eventually reinforce during the day. We don't know, because there are other active fires and resources are finite, and we understand that mobilization must be managed," admitted the second regional commander for the Center.
Today, "very hard work is expected, a difficult day, not only because of the immense area, but also made worse by what has conditioned the fight: accessibility and weather conditions."
Regarding night work, the commander indicated that "three minor injuries were recorded, minor things, and one firefighter was treated, mainly because of smoke in his eyes, which, after a good cleaning, allows him to return to active duty."
Firefighters have already contained 90% of the fire that broke out on Thursday in the municipality of Portalegre and spread to the neighboring municipality of Castelo de Vide, a source from Civil Protection told Lusa.
The source from the Sub-Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command of Alto Alentejo indicated that, in the last assessment carried out with the command on the ground, at 07:10, “the fire was 90% under control”.
"The data indicates that the fight is well underway and that the fire is yielding to the resources" that are in the theater of operations, he added.
When asked about any injuries, the source said that, in relation to the personnel involved in fighting the flames, there were four minor injuries, specifically a forest firefighter and three firefighters.
Regarding affected inhabitants or houses, the sub-regional command does not yet have any information on this.
At 09:15, 260 firefighters were involved in the firefighting work, supported by 83 vehicles and one aircraft.
Around 130 municipalities in the interior North and Center of the country and six municipalities in the Algarve are currently at maximum risk of fire, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
According to the IPMA, all municipalities in the districts of Bragança, Guarda and Viseu, and most of Vila Real, Castelo Branco and Coimbra, are at maximum risk of fire.
Also at maximum risk are dozens of other municipalities in the districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto, Aveiro, Santarém, Portalegre and Faro.
Around 50 municipalities in the districts of Faro, Beja, Évora, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Leiria, Coimbra, Aveiro and Porto are at very high risk.
Around 40 municipalities are at moderate risk, almost all on the country's coast, in the districts of Faro, Setúbal, Lisbon, Santarém, Leiria, Coimbra, Aveiro and Porto.
The fire risk determined by the IPMA has five levels, ranging from low to high, with the latter being issued when weather conditions, such as extreme heat and low humidity, significantly increase the risk of fire ignition and spread.
There are six major fires burning in mainland Portugal this morning, with more than 3,500 firefighters on the ground. The fires in Trancoso in the Guarda district and Arganil, which has already spread to several neighboring municipalities in the Coimbra district, are mobilizing the most resources. Also on the map of significant fires are Satão in the Viseu district, Serra da Lousã in Coimbra, Cinfães in Viseu, and Portalegre.
According to the civil protection website, more than 20 aircraft are already operating, focusing on Arganil and Lousã.
Tabuaço and Vila Real are the only large fires that are in the resolution phase, although many resources are still on the ground working on consolidation.
Trancoso is the fire that has been burning the longest, for almost a week. It started last Saturday.
Good morning, we're starting a new live blog here to follow all the latest news on the fires in mainland Portugal.
You can check out everything important that happened on Thursday here .
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