The operatives bombeiros fighting the fire "were tireless" in their actions said the commander, which allowed for the fire to come under control this morning, said the second commander, Abel Gomes, in a press conference in Budens, Vila do Bispo.
However, he warned, despite the fact that the Vilarinha fire was considered to be under control, there are still "very sensitive points", which "offer great concern" to firefighters.
"In view of the weather conditions expected today, we may have a situation that can be reversed at any time”, warned the official.
"We are perfectly aware that we are going to have situations of projections created naturally by reactivations that will happen during the day," said Abel Gomes.
In view of this scenario, he said, the entire operation will remain alert and in the area because there will be “certainly work not for the next hours, but for the next days”, and it is necessary to be aware that “all the work that has been done now it is not lost ”.
According to Abel Gomes, last night was “very laborious”: “We had a meteorology that almost always went against what the forecasts were. Much more severe in meteorological terms, the wind speed that was felt was always much higher than what were forecast”.
A situation that “made the task of the operatives more difficult” and that did not allow the fire to be controlled even during the night as they intended.
“Also associated with this phenomenon, the topography did not allow access to all the locations of the fire front”, so conditions had to be created by the crawler machines to control the fire”.
According to data made available on the website of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection, at 10:30 am 461 operational firefighting operatives were supported by 145 land and six air support.
Fires are started by PEOPLE!!!! I've seen TOO many people especially older people in this country burning leaves and garbage in areas way too close to trees. I'm never surprised when there is a fire in this country thanks to these peasants!!!
By Alda Fernandes from Lisbon on 20 Jun 2020, 16:51
Our thanks to these brave fire fighters
By Jeremy from Algarve on 20 Jun 2020, 17:50
Good that the fire is now under control and my thanks to the firefighters for a job well done! Hopefully, this fire was not another accident, a result of forest mismanagement or criminally induced as is it often happens in Portugal!
By Tony Fernandes from Other on 21 Jun 2020, 15:58
Where is my first and initial comment? Never published!
By Tony Fernandes from Other on 22 Jun 2020, 02:25