“We are encountering difficulty because we have available aerial resources, including fixed-wing aircraft, but we lack visibility and safety conditions for their deployment,” reported David Lobato to Lusa at around 12:00, speaking as the commander on the ground.
Lobato, who is also the Sub-regional Commander for Médio Tejo and has taken command of the “Sátão/Trancoso complex” today, explained that a helicopter flight was conducted to assess safety, and “the pilot’s recommendation is that there are no safe conditions.”
“This is a handicap to our strategy, yet we must wait for conditions to improve to ensure safety for the aircraft fighting what we are calling front three of this fire, which started with two fires in Sátão and Trancoso.”
He noted that the “active front has inaccessible routes by land” leading to this “combat difficulty,” and expects that “this afternoon’s wind rotation won’t reignite areas where we have completed work.”
Currently, he mentioned, the fire “is divided into three fronts, and two have already moved towards resolution, specifically in Sátão and Sernancelhe, both municipalities within the district of Viseu.”
The third mentioned front targets Mêda, Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Fornos de Algodres and Trancoso, all municipalities in the Guarda district, “and it still lacks perimeter control hence remains active and even split into two.”
“These two fronts are not very large, but we have yet to encircle them, primarily due to difficult access,” emphasized Commander David Lobato.
Nighttime operations allowed “some windows of opportunity, with minimal humidity ingress, but there was some, making it possible to tackle most parts of the two fronts now under resolution.”
This blaze originated from two fires — Sátão in Viseu district and Trancoso in Guarda district — and became united into one on Friday, spreading across 11 municipalities in the two districts.
The 11 municipalities affected include: Sátão, Sernancelhe, Moimenta da Beira, Penedono and São João da Pesqueira in Viseu district; Aguiar da Beira, Trancoso, Fornos de Algodres, Mêda, Celorico da Beira and Vila Nova de Foz Côa in Guarda district.
The fire in Vila Boa, Ferreira de Aves parish in Sátão, was alerted at 01:03 on Wednesday, extending on the same day to Sernancelhe municipality in Viseu district, and to Aguiar da Beira in Guarda district.
The alert for the Freches fire, in Trancoso municipality, Guarda district, occurred a week ago, on the 9th, at 17:21.
The official website of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) displays the resources deployed for both originating fires.
By 12:20, Sátão had mobilized 658 operators backed by 218 vehicles, while Trancoso deployed 425 operators supported by 141 vehicles.
In total, the fire involved 1,083 operatives, aided by 359 vehicles.
