Firefighters tired of fighting to control the flames. Strong winds and terrifying temperatures that further spread the fires. Flames running through the roofs of the houses and the road. Planes and helicopters dropping water on the indomitable fire on the slopes of pines and eucalyptus. This is the situation that Portugal experienced yesterday, the 14th, but the state of contingency in the country did not end yesterday, but will last until next Sunday, as warned by the Prime Minister, António Costa.
Since the last wave of fires in the country began, firefighters have registered more than 800 fires. Today, the 15th, the country maintains a red alert in the interior, especially in the north and center, where more than 2,000 troops are fighting the fire, fueled by high temperatures, wind and drought.
The country has dawned with dozens of active fronts, although the bulk of the means of extinction are concentrated in Leiria (center), Viana do Castelo (north) and the Porto region.
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) maintains the red alert in five inland districts but recalls that practically the entire country presents a “maximum or very high” danger of rural fire.
The flames have devoured more than 10,000 hectares of forest in the last week, bringing the number of hectares lost since January to 30,000, a figure that exceeds the 28,000 recorded as a whole throughout 2021. According to the IPMA, the country broke a temperature record on Tuesday, with a maximum of 44 degrees in Almeirim, about a hundred kilometers north of Lisbon.
The Government has extended the declaration of a state of contingency until Sunday due to weather forecasts, which announce high temperatures and winds during the weekend.
In this context, the state has prohibited the burning of stubble, the use of pyrotechnics, machinery and activity in forest areas and the reinforcement of firefighting equipment.
The authorities appeal to citizen responsibility to reduce the risks of fires since “a small carelessness can end in a huge tragedy”, they have insisted.
