In a press conference at the headquarters of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), Maria Lúcia Amaral, following an announcement of the extension of the alert situation in the country until Sunday, expressed solidarity with the communities affected by the fires and acknowledged the critical statements from local mayors.
“I understand very well all the appeals made by the mayors, given the dramatic nature of what we are experiencing, it is more than understandable. Each mayor, as an elected local authority, is directly responsible for their populations in their territories, therefore they feel the powerlessness and distress caused by all this like no one else,” she said.
The minister emphasized that the country has “the largest deployment on the ground ever” and that the efforts on the ground demonstrate that “the country is responding (…) in a united way,” although she recognized the possibility of some lack of coordination on the ground.
“Lack of coordination, no one is immune to it. In such a significant effort, it can occur and it will inevitably occur, because everything is extraordinarily complex,” said Maria Lúcia Amaral.
After the Socialist Party’s secretary-general and former Minister of Internal Administration, José Luís Carneiro, advocated for activating the contingency situation to ensure all available resources are utilized in the fight, the minister rejected this need for practical reasons.
“What we have concluded so far is that the difference, which is a legal difference, from the Civil Protection Framework Law, between the alert situation and the contingency situation, would only involve the possibility of mobilizing more resources, even at the municipal level, which are already mobilized. This is due, in fact, to the joint effort of all mayors. That is why on a practical level we do not feel the need to change the nature of the decision,” she stated.
The minister mentioned efforts to extend the stay of the two Canadair planes loaned by Morocco until the end of the alert situation, now extended until the end of Sunday, and she admitted using “other international instruments” to ensure resources and “guarantee all necessary equipment” to fulfill the “primary mission, which is to preserve lives and property.”
Regarding the potential request for assistance from the European civil protection mechanism, she highlighted that the decision, being political, is made with technical advice: “As soon as the technical-operational support tells us it is necessary to request international assistance, that assistance will be requested without hesitation.”
When asked about the statements by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, concerning Friday being potentially the most challenging day in combating fires, with a “convergence of conditions” that could exacerbate the situation, apparently contradicting forecasts from IPMA, which suggests a day with similar fire risk to today or previous days, the minister replied with IPMA information pointing to “particularly adverse conditions.”
These conditions justify the extension of the alert situation until Sunday, she added, also appealing for the avoidance of risk situations.
Portugal has been on alert due to fire risk since August 2, and several fires have erupted in the north and center of the country in recent weeks, which have consumed more than half of the approximately 75,000 hectares of the burned area this year.
[Updated at 10:20 PM]
