The efforts of a year were consumed by flames. “A barn burned down, where we kept bales of straw and hay for the sheep, and the barn collapsed. We also had construction materials there because we were expanding the barn,” recounted Mabilde Cardoso.
Although employed, Mabilde Cardoso emphasizes that the approximately 240 sheep are the family’s main source of livelihood.
“We lost everything,” she stated, visibly emotional.
The livestock survived but escaped narrowly. When the fire approached, the family managed to evacuate the animals from the barn. “We had some ewes with small lambs and a dog with two puppies that were only 15 days old, and I managed to rescue them before the fire arrived. We loaded them onto the tractor and saved them, but everything else was left behind,” she explained.
Saving the property and infrastructure was impossible because the fire was “very strong” and “there was a lot of wind at that hour.” The barn eventually burned down around 11:00 PM on Thursday. Even though the land was cleared, it did not prevent the path of destruction.
“We never thought it would actually burn because we had cleared it around. My husband took care to clean both our land and others’ because some people don’t even bother to clear their lands,” she stated.
Mabilde Cardoso also mentioned that there was “no chance” for firefighters to prevent the destruction since “there was fire above and below.”
Now, she reflected, “we just have to take it one day at a time and see what comes next.”
The couple relocated from Switzerland seven years ago. Mabilde Cardoso’s husband’s “passion” for livestock led him to become a shepherd and he had plans to “expand” the sheep farming and the barn. The fire thwarted those plans.
Regarding government aid, Mabilde Cardoso does not have much hope, merely waiting for “tomorrow.”
The fire in Vinhais started in the village of Palas on Thursday at 11:00 AM and had three active fronts. In addition to Palas and Ervedosa, it also affected the villages of Nuzedo de Baixo, Agrochão, and Falgueiras.
By 2:00 PM, the fire had one active front at Serro das Penhas Juntas, with over 480 personnel on the ground supported by 10 aerial units.
