Joaquim Oliveira has been fighting a fire along the Spanish border near Galicia for several days. He resides in Porto and is currently vacationing in Vilela Seca, in the northern district of Vila Real.
“We’ve had the mountains filled with smoke every day, and then it came over here. At night, it started at the top, in the mountain peak, and this afternoon it crossed the entire mountain until it reached the villages,” he stated.
The fire moved closer to Agrela and Torre, and at the entrance of Vilela Seca, local residents gathered with brooms, a tractor, and even Spanish volunteers who have been helping extinguish the fire in various locations for several days.
“The issue is that it crossed the road and is heading to the upper part of our village and could reach Outeiro Seco,” Oliveira noted.
Henrique da Silva, holding a broom, joined to help, worried about his house, which “is up there, on the high ground, where one of the fire fronts is heading.”
“It’s near the houses, and no one dares approach. It’s close to the village on both sides,” he stated.
Andy Francisco Teixeira from Verín, Spain, arrived in Vilela Seca with two friends to assist in putting out the fire that has been burning “for about two weeks.” Other volunteers remained in Cambedo.
“We came from Spain to help,” he affirmed, emphasizing the difficult situation on both sides of the border and the need for assistance.
Pedro Pascal, a journalist from Spain, has been covering the fire impacting Galicia for several days. “It’s an absolute hell, and the people of this region are suffering greatly,” he reported, mentioning that Portuguese firefighters have been assisting against this fire, which is difficult to control due to shifting winds.
Pascal commented on following the fire’s path through the Ourense region and today entered Portugal via Cambedo, Chaves.
“It’s very complicated and hard to predict when it will end,” he added.
On Monday afternoon, the fire reached Vilar de Perdizes, further endangering the village.
According to the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), as of 5:20 PM on the day the fire started in Portugal at 10:25 AM in Vilar de Perdizes (Montalegre), 271 personnel, 82 vehicles, and five aerial units were deployed.
