Mayor warns of situation most severe in Serra da Gardunhawith the fire slowing down, but “very dangerously towards Castelo Novo”.
The mayor of the Fundão said on Wednesday that the lack of resources on the ground may greatly compromise the fire fighting in the county, if nothing changes until late morning.
Speaking to the Lusa Agency at 10:10, Paulo Fernandes explained that the direct combat at night got “mitigate some risk” on the slope of the Boxinos and in the village of Açor.
“A most serious situation takes place in Serra da Gardunhawith the fire descending slowly, but very dangerously towards Castelo Novo, “he said.
According to the mayor, the North Front, near Souto da Casa, denotes a lot of instability.
Paulo Fernandes stressed that all Fire fronts are very unstable And there are a lot of hot points that can at any time complicate the situation.
“In structural terms, We lack resources. Basically, we are operating with the Fundão’s own means. Os Air media still They are not operating at this time. They told us in the briefing [ao terceiro dia] that we could have air. We still have none to operate at this time, “he said.
The mayor stressed that the Situation in your county is “quite critical” And that the arrival of more terrestrial means, trace machines, “more resources” is urgent.
“If these flaws are not collected, we risk repeating the terrible and tragic scenes for what happened yesterday [terça-feira] And at the beginning of the night, with several locations surrounded by fire, “he said.
The mayor said that today, Wednesday, is critical and assured that if nothing happens until late morning or early afternoon, “This battle will be far from being overcome“.
Houses and agricultural structures have already burned
On Tuesday night, especially in Souto da Casa, they partially burned some first housing, There was Destruction of second housing And there are many Support Agricultural Structures already destroyed.
This fire that launched on Wednesday in Arganil, has also extended to the municipalities of Pampilhosa da Serra and Oliveira do Hospital (Coimbra District), Seia (Guarda) and Covilhã and Castelo Branco (Castelo Branco).
In Arganil they operated at 11 am on Wednesday 15 air assets. On the ground were more than 1,600 operational ones supported by 542 terrestrial media
Continental Portugal has been affected by multiple rural fires since July, especially in the North and Center.
The fires caused three dead, including a firefighter, and several injuries, some seriously, and destroyed full or partially destroyed first and second housing houses, as well as agricultural explorations and livestock and forest area.
According to provisional data, until August 20, more than 222 thousand hectares burned in the country, surpassing the area burned throughout 2024.
