In a statement to the Lusa news agency this morning, before the start of the Municipal Emergency and Civil Protection Commission meeting, the mayor stated that “the damage is very extensive and incalculable; the municipality has already requested government support to help those who lost everything.”
The commission is set to conduct an initial assessment of the damage caused by the fire and decide whether to maintain the Municipal Emergency and Protection Plan, which has been activated since 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
“We are going to begin this assessment, but we know that several producers have lost agricultural operations and machinery, there are livestock farmers with animals in need of feed, many chestnut, olive, vineyard, fruit, and pine trees have burned,” said the Mayor of Trancoso.
Amílcar Salvador added that “about 8,000 hectares have burned over these two days, which is very large for a municipality like Trancoso.”
According to the mayor, the past two days have been “very complicated” in the Guarda district, where the intervention of the local population was “very important.”
“Residents fought the flames on the outskirts of the villages, preventing the burning of residential homes and, fortunately, avoiding casualties. They were crucial because they know the land,” he praised.
According to Civil Protection, the fire resulted in six minor injuries, three of whom are firefighters, and 11 people required onsite assistance due to smoke inhalation.
The Mayor of Trancoso downplays criticism regarding the lack of resources on the ground, assuring that many resources were deployed to combat the flames.
“The problem was the strong wind. It was almost impossible to stop the flames, with the fire being completely out of control at times, especially on Sunday,” he acknowledged.
Amílcar Salvador noted that “more than 70 firefighting units, over 500 firefighters, and more than 200 vehicles were on the ground, but sometimes we couldn’t be in the right place, as the smoke and strong wind greatly hindered the operational efforts.”
The Trancoso mayor added that, on Monday morning, “the situation is calmer, with only two hotspots in the area of Aldeia Nova, near the Fornos de Algodres municipality, and in the Reboleiro mountain range.”
By late Monday morning, the Trancoso fire was the main event recorded by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), with 636 operatives, supported by 217 vehicles and seven aerial units, involved in firefighting efforts.
The progression of the flames is not endangering populations, and the firefighters’ efforts are proceeding favorably, according to Civil Protection.
