Wearing a mask, Joselina Paiva, the president of the Parish Council of Terena, acknowledged that “the situation got a bit out of control” this afternoon on the outskirts of the village, primarily due to strong winds.
“The fire has already reached close to houses and storage facilities that people have here”, she highlighted, specifying that the homes at risk are located near the road connecting the village of Terena to the village of Hortinhas.
Despite the distress, she emphasized that there is no information about any houses being destroyed by the flames.
Joselina Paiva noted that many locals attempted to assist firefighters in preventing the worst by using hoses.
With the fire nearby, according to the president, GNR soldiers searched inside some houses and evacuated certain residents as a precaution, without knowing the exact number.
By 7 p.m., according to a source from the Central Alentejo Sub-regional Command for Emergency and Civil Protection, 296 personnel were involved in the operation, supported by 96 vehicles and eight aerial means.
The alert for the fire, which is burning in a bush area in the municipality of Alandroal, was given at 9:22 a.m.
A GNR source revealed that the truck driver suspected of starting the fire was identified and constituted as a defendant by the Guard this afternoon.
The Évora Territorial Command of the GNR indicated that the man, driving a freight truck carrying wood, was charged with forest fire crime, and the case was reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the same source, a metal piece from one of the trailer’s straps used to secure the transported wood came loose and, upon hitting the ground, caused sparks, which reportedly ignited several fire spots in the municipality.
This morning, the mayor of Alandroal, João Grilo, had revealed that the fire originated from the tire of a truck, which had caught fire, sparking flames along National Road 255 (EN255), connecting Alandroal to Reguengos de Monsaraz.
Due to the fire, road traffic was cut off on sections of the EN255 between Alandroal and the village of Terena and National Road 373 (EN373) between the county seat and Juromenha, among other municipal roads.
