According to information available at 10:00 am on the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) website, 637 personnel, 219 land and eight air assets are mobilised to tackle the fire that broke out in Cortinhas, in the municipality of Murça.

The fire started on Sunday afternoon in Cortinhas, in the municipality of Murça, and that same day spread to the municipality of Vila Pouca de Aguiar. On Monday it advanced to Valpaços.

“The damage is enormous”, said the mayor of Vila Pouca, Alberto Machado.

The mayor was speaking to journalists after traveling to Murça, where a Civil Protection command post is installed, to participate in a briefing with mayors and the various forces involved in the incident.

“We are talking about an area that already exceeds 3,000 hectares”, he said, referring to the joint area of ​​the municipalities of Vila Pouca de Aguiar and Murça.

Evacuations and deaths

On Monday, the fire forced the evacuation of around 300 people from several villages in Murça as a precaution.

The mayor of Murça, Mário Artur Lopes, mentioned that they are inhabitants of the villages of Valongo de Milhais, Ribeirinha, Penabeice, Mascanho, Paredes and Vale de Égua.

On Monday afternoon, an elderly couple were found dead in a charred car, after a road accident that occurred in a burned area in the municipality and which is being investigated by the GNR.