The situation “remains very complicated in Alvoco da Serra” in the Guarda district, as the flames “are more active,” Carlos Marques reported.
“Almost everything has burned, but the fire turned towards the flanks, where there is still material to burn,” he explained, assuring that “there are no villages at risk.”
According to the official, almost the entire area has been consumed by the flames. “Since Alvoco is closer to the Torre, the fire progressed to that area, affecting the flanks,” he specified.
Carlos Marques believes the situation could be resolved by the end of the day, as there may be no more fuel left to burn.
For over a week, the fire that started in Piódão, Arganil, in the Coimbra district, spread to the municipality of Seia (Guarda district), and to the municipalities of Oliveira do Hospital and Pampilhosa da Serra (Coimbra district), and to the municipalities of Castelo Branco, Covilhã, and Fundão (Castelo Branco district).
The Seia Town Hall reported on Friday night that the fire remained “circumscribed, with two difficult-to-combat but low-intensity internal fronts,” on the left slope of the Loriga Glacial Valley (on-foot combat) and on the left slope of the Ribeira de Alvoco, coming from Unhais da Serra.
**Arganil Mayor States Fire No Longer Active**
The mayor of Arganil, Coimbra district, stated that the fire in his municipality is no longer active.
“We had five days of intense fire, but the situation is under control. There have been flare-ups and hot spots this week, but we have been carrying out mop-up operations. We have no fire front,” assured Luís Paulo Costa.
Mainland Portugal has been affected by multiple large-scale rural fires since July, especially in the North and Center regions.
The fires have caused four deaths, including a firefighter, and several injuries, some severe. They have destroyed homes and agricultural, livestock, and forest areas.
Portugal has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, under which it has access to two Fire Boss planes, a Super Puma helicopter, and two Canadair planes.
According to provisional official data, by August 23, about 248,000 hectares had burned in the country, over 57,000 of which from the fire that started in Arganil.
