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Aguiar da Beira waiting for help to arrive “as quickly as possible”

“It is a very critical situation. We only have the Aguiar da Beira firefighters on the ground and a helicopter making drops. This is not enough given the intensity of the fire, which is heading towards the villages,” stated Virgílio Cunha, Mayor of Aguiar da Beira.

The president of the municipality in the district of Guarda indicated that the fire is in Ponte do Abade, Sequeiros, Barranha, and Lezíria, in the Union of Parishes of Sequeiros and Gradiz, at the boundary of the municipality.

“The fire is in a border area between municipalities, and it’s every man for himself. It’s total chaos and distressing because we don’t have the means to fight the flames,” he emphasized.

Virgílio Cunha added that it is an area with “a lot of forest” and very close settlements.

“We are evaluating whether to proceed with the evacuation of the nursing home in Ponte do Abade, and everything is ready for that.”

The mayor of Aguiar da Beira mentioned that, so far, warehouses and agricultural sheds, tools, forest areas, brushwood, and agricultural lands have burned.

“Fortunately, no houses have been affected, but as the situation stands, we are not safe from this happening because the fire is moving towards the villages,” he declared.

A reinforcement column and more aerial means are on the way to Ponte do Abade, but the mayor is desperate about the delay.

“Help has to arrive quickly. Besides the high temperatures, the wind is blowing strong and changes quickly in direction, which contributes to intensifying the fire towards the villages,” said Virgílio Cunha.

The Vila Boa fire, in the parish of Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, district of Viseu, was alerted at 01:03 on Wednesday and the same day reached the municipalities of Sernancelhe, also in the district of Viseu, and Aguiar da Beira.

As of 09:30, 867 operatives, supported by 284 vehicles and seven aerial means, were combating this fire, according to the official page of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC).

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