The deputy commander of the Montalegre fire department, Júlio Lopes, stated at 7:10 PM that the fire was giving way to firefighting efforts, with two active fronts remaining, one of which was “practically controlled.”
Strong winds and poor access hindered efforts to combat the blaze, which reignited today at 2:42 PM in Santo André after being deemed under control on Sunday.
The flames were burning through areas of oak, pine, and brush, with Lopes indicating that the front advancing toward the village of Solveira was “being consolidated.”
The deputy commander mentioned that the expected decrease in temperature to seven or eight degrees and increased humidity tonight could assist in controlling the fire.
Lopes noted that this was a reactivation of a fire that started at 1:20 AM on Saturday, spreading with two fronts, one heading toward Spain, burning approximately a thousand hectares in the Larouco mountain range, in the northern part of Vila Real district.
According to the online page of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), as of 7:40 PM, 189 personnel were deployed to this fire, supported by 59 vehicles.
