The tourist region in the south of the country is facing a fire that the fire service is struggling to bring under control. Hundreds of people have been evacuated.
21,000 hectares have already gone up in smoke despite the efforts of the 1,400 firefighters and military personnel deployed. This large-scale operation, set up to prevent a repeat of last summer’s devastating fires (which claimed 114 lives), has nevertheless been criticised by firefighters’ associations, who have denounced the ‘disorganisation of the emergency services’. The density of the eucalyptus plantations, which are known to catch fire quickly, has also been cited as a factor.39 people injured, including 21 firefighters:
To slow the spread of the flames, more than 1,300 firefighters have been dispatched to the scene. Water from swimming pools is being used to supply the helicopters. The fire has already left 39 people injured, one of whom is in a serious condition."“Nineteen of them are firefighters,” said Patricia Gaspar. Hundreds of residents and holidaymakers have been evacuated from the area around Monchique, a small town of 6,000 inhabitants, 160 kilometres south of Lisbon.
A blaze fanned by the wind and the heat
"We must not be under any illusion that this fire will be extinguished in the next few hours," the Prime Minister said during a press conference at the Civil Protection headquarters in Lisbon. The operation, he said, "will continue over the next few days"."The winds have died down, there is no longer an active weather front, and the situation has now largely stabilised "but we will remain vigilant as the risk of fire will remain high on Friday", Patricia Gaspar, spokesperson for the National Civil Protection Authority, said on Thursday evening. Water-bombing aircraft and helicopters continued their shuttle between the sea and the mountains until the evening in an effort to bring the fire under control; the blaze has scorched nearly 27,000 hectares. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yYuur3k6JE