President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed to journalists that he supports the government’s decision to activate an alert status, a measure announced by the Minister of Internal Administration during a visit to Graciosa Island, Azores. He stated that it is better to “prevent rather than remedy” given the expected challenging period. He emphasized that “nobody can say they weren’t warned.”
The President explained that prevention involves public awareness, granting authorities enhanced powers to enforce prohibitions on dangerous activities rather than merely recommending against them.
Marcelo noted that this alert was a prepared solution by the government following a phase of combating wildfires in northern Portugal the previous week.
The President indicated that the government had anticipated worsening weather conditions favorable to severe fires. He confirmed he was informed of the alert decision by the Prime Minister beforehand.
Marcelo also mentioned that the necessity for external aid will depend on how the fires develop, clarifying that his earlier call for caution regarding the European Civil Protection Mechanism’s activation was situation-specific.
Starting Sunday until Thursday, mainland Portugal will enter an alert status due to the high risk of wildfires in the coming days, as announced by the Minister of Internal Administration today.
“In light of worsening weather forecasts indicating a significant risk of rural fires, the government has decided to declare an alert status throughout the mainland,” stated Maria Lúcia Amaral in a national address.
The alert status will be in effect from 00:00 on Sunday to 23:59 on Thursday.
