In statements to the Lusa agency, Covilhã Mayor Vítor Pereira reported that the fire destroyed one house in Trigais (Erada parish) and another in Vale de Cerdeira (São Jorge da Beira parish).
“According to the preliminary report from the Forest Fire Information Management System (SGIF), the area burned in the Covilhã municipality was 20,257 hectares. To give you an idea of the scale, in 2022, the fire that affected six municipalities in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park burned a total area of 24,000 hectares,” emphasized the Covilhã mayor.
The Covilhã municipality covers an approximate area of 55,600 hectares.
Vítor Pereira also noted that 11 of the 21 parishes were affected by the fire, all located in the southern area of the Covilhã municipality.
The Covilhã municipality has been on the ground since the onset, with an emergency social response that includes social and psychological support teams.
“The University of Beira Interior (UBI) has provided psychologists, and two support lines were created in partnership with the university,” he explained.
Animal feed is also being provided through a partnership with the Portuguese Association of Limousine Breed Breeders.
“We are on the ground, along with the parish councils, conducting a more thorough assessment of the damages to decide whether to apply for the support line of up to 10,000 euros or opt for other applications,” indicated Vítor Pereira.
Additionally, the municipality is assessing public damages caused by the fire and clearing roads.
The municipal emergency plan was deactivated on Wednesday, which had been activated on the 15th, following the fire’s entry into the Covilhã municipality. This fire originated on the 13th in Arganil, Coimbra district, and also spread to the municipalities of Pampilhosa da Serra and Oliveira do Hospital (Coimbra district), Seia (Guarda), and Covilhã, Castelo Branco, and Fundão (Castelo Branco).
According to official provisional data, about 250,000 hectares burned in the country up to August 23, over 57,000 of which were from the fire that began in Arganil.
With these two houses in Covilhã, at least 12 homes (10 main residences) have burned in the Central region, for which the Government has committed to contributing to their reconstruction up to a maximum of 250,000 euros.
The municipality of Oliveira do Hospital, in the interior of the Coimbra district, affected by the major Arganil fire, counts the highest number (five), followed by Lousã (two), in the same district.
In Lousã, the fire that ignited on the 14th in Candal destroyed a mobile home in Silveira de Cima and another under reconstruction as a primary residence in Cabanões.
In the Guarda district, a primary residence burned in Aguiar da Beira, according to the mayor, Virgílio Cunha, who noted the presence of several primary residences with damages, although not preventing the inhabitants’ residence.
The Aguiar da Beira municipality began to be affected on the 13th and 14th by fires that started in Trancoso, Guarda district, and Sernancelhe and Sátão, Viseu district.
Also in Fornos de Algodres, the destruction of a primary residence was recorded.
The municipalities of Penamacor and Castelo Branco, in this district, each recorded a burned house.
The government has established aid for the reconstruction of homes used as primary residences in situations such as the recent rural fires, with a “100% contribution up to the amount of 250,000 euros,” announced the prime minister on Thursday.
The remaining amount, indicated Luís Montenegro, will be reimbursed at 85%.
