“For security reasons, and due to an active fire in the surrounding area, the Paiva Walkways and the 516 Arouca bridge are temporarily closed,” states a notice published on the Walkways’ Facebook page.
A source from the Arouca interactive Tourism store told Lusa that, so far, they have no knowledge that the fire has reached this infrastructure, but, as a precaution, it will remain closed for the rest of the day.
The fire broke out around 1:15 PM in a bush area in Alvarenga, Arouca.
By 4:10 PM, according to the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection website, 156 operatives, 45 vehicles, and eight air assets were involved in combating the flames.
This is not the first time that the Paiva Walkways, one of the most important local tourist infrastructures, have been affected by fire.
The last occurrence was in September 2024, when a fire destroyed about two kilometers of the walkways, representing a quarter of its total length.
After repair works, which took three months and cost more than 200,000 euros, the walkways reopened to the public in their full extension on April 16.
The fire that broke out on September 17 in Arouca spread from the adjoining municipality of Castro Daire, had several active fronts simultaneously, and, until it was declared extinguished two days later, involved the simultaneous work of more than 230 firefighters and other operatives.
