In statements at 9:15 PM, Leopoldo Rodrigues reported that the flames spread to Castelo Branco in the parish of São Vicente da Beira, near the locality of Paradanta.
“I don’t remember a fire of this intensity, the smoke ceiling and the speed of the flames are impressive,” said the mayor.
He added that the efforts of the operatives on the ground are proceeding in the defense of the settlements and in the prevention of new outbreaks in the municipality.
Earlier today, the Municipal Civil Protection Service of Castelo Branco issued an alert, urging the population of the parishes of São Vicente da Beira and Almaceda to remain confined and adopt self-protection behaviors, due to the approaching fire from Fundão.
The alert was specifically directed at the populations of the localities of Paradanta — where the fire has already reached — Vale de Figueira, Partida, Ribeira de Eiras, Rochas de Cima, Pereiros, and São Vicente da Beira.
Further south, in Oleiros, also in the district of Castelo Branco, municipal services are also on alert and adopting preventive measures, with tracked machines and firefighters on the ground, due to the approaching fire.
Oleiros is located in the west of Castelo Branco district and has the Zêzere River as a natural border with Pampilhosa da Serra (Coimbra), also neighboring the municipalities of Fundão and Castelo Branco — where the flames originating from Arganil have already arrived.
Speaking with Lusa, Miguel Marques, the Mayor of Oleiros, said the main concern is focused on the parish of Orvalho (bordering Castelo Branco and Fundão) and Cambas, overlooking the Zêzere River and Pampilhosa da Serra, where the fire hit, by late afternoon, the parishes of Janeiro de Baixo and Dornelas do Zêzere, threatening several villages.
“We are taking every precaution and preventive measure. The parish councils of Cambas and Orvalho have already alerted the population to observe some restraint in movement and safeguard some goods and animals which may be in this potential line of fire,” indicated the mayor.
Strong winds will determine whether or not the fire will enter the municipality of Oleiros. “We are positioned, and we also have firefighting vehicles in the Orvalho area,” added Miguel Marques.
From the side of Pampilhosa da Serra, where the flames burned with great violence throughout the day, driven by strong winds, the local council, in a Facebook post at 7:45 PM, informed that the fire in the municipality “worsened in the last few hours, in a very unfavorable scenario.”
“Strong winds, with sudden changes in direction, have significantly hindered firefighting operations, making the situation highly unpredictable,” it stressed.
The fire that broke out in the parish of Piódão, in Arganil, at 5:00 AM last Wednesday, then spread to Oliveira do Hospital and Pampilhosa da Serra (also in Coimbra district), Seia (Guarda) and Covilhã, Fundão, and Castelo Branco.
By 9:50 PM, according to the National Authority for Civil Protection, nearly 1,300 operatives were on the ground, supported by 445 vehicles, in the fire originating from Arganil.
