Nearly five thousand firefighters were fighting 126 fires at 5:40 p.m.
At 5:40 pm today, nearly five thousand firefighters were fighting the 126 active fires in mainland Portugal, with the one that broke out on Sunday in the municipality of Oliveira de Azeméis being the one that mobilises the most resources, according to Civil Protection.
According to information available at 17:40 on the website of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), there were 4,946 operatives on the ground fighting active fires, supported by 1,500 vehicles and 39 aerial resources.
The fire that broke out on Sunday, at 2:52 pm, in the Union of Parishes of Pinheiro da Bemposta, Travanca and Palmaz, in Oliveira de Azeméis, in the district of Aveiro, was the one that, at 5:40 pm, concentrated the most resources on site, mobilizing 584 operatives, supported by 198 vehicles and six aerial resources.
This fire has already caused four injuries, including a firefighter who requires “more care”.
Of these four injured, three are hospitalized in Aveiro hospital and a fourth was transferred to the University Hospitals of Coimbra, Civil Protection reported.
Still in the district of Aveiro, 272 operatives, supported by 88 vehicles and four aerial resources, are fighting a fire that broke out on Sunday in the municipality of Sever do Vouga.
Also in this district, in the municipality of Albergaria-a-Velha, 195 operatives were mobilized, supported by 57 vehicles and an aircraft.
Further south, the fire that broke out on Sunday in the parish of Louriçal do Campo, in the municipality of Castelo Branco, was being fought at 5:40 pm by 244 firefighters, supported by 84 vehicles and two aircraft.
In the district of Lisbon, a fire that broke out at 3:35 pm in a scrubland area in the municipality of Mafra, mobilized 223 operatives, 65 land vehicles and two air resources.
According to ANEPC, one person was charred in the Sever do Vouga fire and another suffered a heart attack in the Albergaria-a-Velha fire.
Around 70 people had to be evacuated and at least five properties, including homes, were hit by flames in different rural fires that broke out between Sunday and today in the North and Center regions, according to Civil Protection.
In a press conference at 1:00 pm, the national commander of Emergency and Civil Protection, André Fernandes, indicated that evacuations were recorded in the fires of Oliveira de Azeméis, Sever do Vouga and Cabeceiras de Basto, and have “gone as expected”, with the collaboration of the populations.
Portugal asked the European Union for help under the European Civil Protection Mechanism and air resources from France, Italy, Spain and Greece have already been made available, totaling eight CanadaAir.
A source from the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Lusa that the two Spanish Canadair planes are already operating in the fires in Portugal.
The flames forced traffic closures on several roads, such as the A1 between Coimbra Norte and Estarreja, the A25 between the Aveiro and Reigoso junction, the A29 north-south direction between Estarreja and Angeja, the IC2 between Salreu and Águeda, the EN238 in Sever do Vouga, the EN109 between Estarreja and Aveiro and the EN16 between Cacia and Albergaria-a-Velha.
Portuguese
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
