Speaking to the television station CNN, Carlos Carreiras said that “the fire is not yet under control, but it is on its way to being under control”.

At 3:45 pm, the fire, which broke out in a bush and forest area near the town of Murches at 12:19 pm, was being fought by 317 firefighters, 93 vehicles and eight aerial means.

“The variable that we do not control is the wind that changes direction”, observed the mayor, adding that, if this happens, “the means on the ground, whether at aerial level, at ground level, or at human level, are more than enough for the fire that is currently occurring.”

Carlos Carreiras reported that, despite the proximity of the fire to houses, it was not yet necessary to carry out evacuations, just the removal of some elderly people due to the strong presence of smoke, and said that, if necessary, fire-fighting facilities were being prepared backup for the eventuality of welcoming populations.

The mayor of Cascais ruled out that this was a fire of “enormous severity”, compared to a fire that hit a nearby area last year, and which he said was, at the time, fought by around 1,500 operators.

The causes of the fire have not been determined. In the last two years, large fires have been recorded in the parish of Alcabideche.

Due to the direction of the wind, smoke and ash particles from today's fire reached residential areas in the parish of Cascais.