Fires in Portugal. Firefighting in Covilhã “evolving favorably” | fires
The firefighting that broke out in the municipality of Covilhã, the only active fire in mainland Portugal, had more than 1,100 operational personnel, but is “evolving favourably”, a civil protection source told Lusa this Wednesday.
According to information available at 5:45 am on place of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), the fire that started in the town of Garrocho (Covilhã) was fought by 1147 firefighters, supported by 356 vehicles.
A source from ANEPC’s Castelo Branco Relief Operations District Command told Lusa that the firefighting is “evolving favorably”.
The fire broke out at 3:18 am on Saturday, in the town of Garrocho, parish of Cantar-Galo and Vila do Carvalho, in the municipality of Covilhã (Castelo Branco), and spread to Manteigas, in the district of Guarda.
A firefighting helicopter victim of a fire suffered in the afternoon of an accident suffered during firefighting operations, without causing an arson or victim of damage.
In the same fire firefighters and a forest fire on Tuesday, three firefighters during the fight.
At a press conference in the early evening, the Regional Operational Commander of the Center stressed that there was “a very serious situation” in the municipality of Manteigas.
“The situation that concerns us most is the fire front in the municipality of Manteigas. There are two active fronts, one in the municipality of Covilhã and the other in the municipality of Manteigas”, stressed António Ribeiro, admitting that he expected “a difficult night” and a lot of work.
By 5:45 am, there are no other active fires in mainland Portugal.
In construction or aftermath actions, 188 were found, with 48 terrestrial means, in a total of 11 occurrences.