The situation remains calm, yet not fully under control. The main focus is now on a front being tackled along National Road 340, in the Aldeia Nova area, which continues to advance,” stated António José Machado, president of the Almeida Municipal Council in the Guarda district.
The mayor added, around 8:00 PM, that a fuel station in Azinhal is in the fire’s path, currently located “two kilometers ahead of the flames.”
“Firefighters are on the ground combating this front, which is intensifying due to the wind. We still have some aerial resources, but they will soon cease operations due to nightfall, suggesting more challenges in the coming hours,” he noted.
Areas like Valverde and Termas da Fonte Santa are “calmer,” according to the Almeida mayor, whose council borders Spain.
However, António José Machado warned about ongoing reignitions in a part of the border municipality with “very rugged terrain” where the wind “has made things even more difficult.”
As of 8:30 PM, there were 187 personnel and 55 vehicles engaged in combating the flames, with reinforcements expected to continue throughout the night.
This afternoon, a firefighter from the Pinhel brigade was severely injured when the vehicle he was driving was engulfed by flames in Valverde, in the Almeida municipality.
The 45-year-old volunteer suffered severe burns and was airlifted by a helicopter from the National Institute of Medical Emergency to hospitals in Coimbra.
The wildfire began at 2:58 PM in the locality of Cinco Vilas, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, on Wednesday and spread along the banks of the Côa River into the municipalities of Almeida and Pinhel, consuming brush in rugged, hard-to-reach areas.
Portugal has been ravaged by numerous large-scale rural fires since July, particularly in the North and Central regions.
The fires have resulted in three fatalities, including one firefighter, and caused several injuries, some severe, along with the complete or partial destruction of homes, both primary and secondary, as well as agricultural farms, livestock facilities, and forested areas.
Portugal has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, under which it has received two Fire Boss aircraft, with two more Canadair planes expected to arrive on Friday.
According to provisional official data, as of August 21, 234,000 hectares have burned in the country.
