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Fire in Madeira: Portugal calls on the EU

by AI | 22.Aug 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Portugal asked its European partners on Wednesday for water-bombing planes to fight a fire that has been raging for a week on the island of Madeira, threatening a forest classified as a world heritage site.

A helicopter from the Regional Civil Protection Service fights a forest fire raging in Pico do Areeiro mountain on August 21, 2024, in Santana, on the Portuguese island of Madeira, which started a week ago in the Ribeira Brava district. Portuguese authorities today sent reinforcements to Madeira to combat a forest fire that has been raging for a week and is affecting the edge of a UNESCO World Heritage-listed forest. Helder Santos / AFP

“We will activate the European civil protection mechanism in the coming hours to bring two Canadair planes of a type that can operate in Madeira,” a government source told the Lusa news agency.

The president of the regional government, Miguel Albuquerque, also announced the arrival on Wednesday of 60 firefighters and rescuers sent as reinforcements from Lisbon, in addition to the 76 already sent by the national government last weekend.

As of Tuesday at midday, the area burned by this fire amounted to 4,392 hectares, an additional 959 hectares in 24 hours, informed the European Copernicus Observatory (EMS).

On Wednesday evening, the flames were still advancing on two fronts in very difficult to access areas of the central mountain range of this island, highly prized by foreign tourists located off the coast of Morocco, said Mr. Albuquerque.

The fire broke out last Wednesday in the municipality of Ribeira Brava and then spread to the neighboring municipalities of Câmara de Lobos and Ponta do Sol, located on the south coast of the island, west of the regional capital Funchal.

According to local authorities, the fire has so far destroyed no houses and caused no injuries, although several firefighters have shown signs of exhaustion. (21/08/2024)