“We are investigating and have been since the beginning when we went to the site,” a source told Lusa. Refusing to provide details, the source only indicated that the Madeira Criminal Investigation Department “is carrying out the investigative procedures that are normal in this type of situation.”
The rural fire broke out on Wednesday in the mountains of Ribeira Brava, spreading the following day to the adjacent municipality of Câmara de Lobos, and, over the weekend, to the municipality of Ponta do Sol, through Paul da Serra.
Until Sunday, a total of 160 people had to be evacuated from their homes as a precaution and transported to public facilities, but many residents have already returned or are returning home.
Firefighting efforts have been hampered by wind, now reduced, and high temperatures, but there have been no reports of injuries or destruction of houses and essential infrastructure.
Two active fronts remain today in the municipalities of Ponta do Sol and Ribeira Brava, mobilizing nearly two hundred operatives (including from the mainland and the Azores) and several dozen vehicles, in addition to the archipelago’s aerial resources.
The president of the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque, claims it is arson, but the causes have not yet been disclosed.
“It undoubtedly derived from arson.” Madeira fire without casualties
The president of the Regional Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, provided an update on the fire in Madeira, stating that it was likely “arson in an inaccessible area during a period when aerial resources could not operate.”
