With the country on alert because of the heatwave, the national territory is already seeing the first major wildfires of the season. According to the Civil Protection Authority, 62 incidents were recorded between midnight and 3 p.m. this Thursday, some of them overnight.
One of them is the large fire currently burning in the municipality of Vouzela. According to Mário Silvestre, National Commander of the National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC), the blaze broke out at around 3 a.m. and is still ‘burning in a very complex area’. According to data on the Civil Protection website, at 4.15 p.m. the fire was being tackled by 303 personnel, 90 ground assets and four aerial resources.
As well as Vouzela, at 4.14 p.m. there were four other rural fires: two in Vila Nova de Famalicão, one in Montijo and another in Ourém. More than 500 firefighters and other responders are battling the flames on the ground, supported by over 140 vehicles and 10 aircraft.
Since midnight, the incidents recorded have involved a total of 1,995 personnel, 537 ground assets and 62 aircraft, according to the ANPC commander.
The ANPC has raised the special state of readiness to levels two and three across the country and is considering placing the entire mainland territory at level three tomorrow.
