The municipality in the district of Viseu announced this afternoon that it has been making “every effort to mitigate the terrible effects of the forest fires that devastated the municipality, significantly impacting the economy and the well-being” of its residents.
“The City Council promptly acquired these goods; however, due to circumstances beyond our control, they are only now reaching our territory,” it explained.
Since Sunday, teams have been on the ground and at the council building assisting residents in identifying the damages across various parishes.
On Tuesday, officials from the Northern Coordination and Regional Development Commission (CCDR) visited the municipality to assess “the extent of the damage caused by the fires and evaluate measures that could be implemented to support local agriculture and the economy.”
The municipality has requested immediate assistance from the Government and believes there are “good indications” that “support could be arriving very soon,” particularly at the extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Viseu.
Once the support is approved, the municipality “will offer all residents its services to assist in filling out the forms to obtain support, which should cover agriculture, commerce, and industry,” it added.
Mainland Portugal has been plagued by numerous large-scale rural fires since July, especially in the northern and central regions.
The fires have resulted in three deaths, including a firefighter, and several injuries, some serious, while destroying homes, agricultural and livestock operations, and forested areas, either partially or entirely.
Portugal activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, through which two Fire Boss planes arrived to bolster firefighting efforts.
According to provisional official data, by August 20, more than 222,000 hectares had burned in the country, exceeding the total burned area for the year 2024.
