More than 500 operatives fought at 9:45 pm today the fire that is burning in Santo André das Tojeiras, Castelo Branco municipality, with “some intensity” in certain areas, due to the strong wind, a source of Civil Protection told Lusa.
A source from the National Emergency and Civil Protection Command told Lusa, at 9:30 pm, that the fire was still active, in some parts “with great intensity and with many projections, due to the intensity of the wind on the site”.
“We hope that, as the night goes on, the temperatures will drop and the wind will stop being so intense in order to facilitate the fight” and allow the fire to be dominated, added the same source.
Without air means on site, due to nightfall, three trail machines are at work, in order to help consolidate and fight the fire, he also detailed.
The fire broke out at 15:00 in a forest area near the village of Carrascal, Santo André das Tojeiras, in the municipality of Castelo Branco.
The Civil Protection source also stressed that there is no record of injuries or people removed from homes, despite having been close to several villages.
“The means on site managed to extinguish the situations before the fire reached the dwellings”, he pointed out.
An airplane that participated in the fight against this fire suffered material damage this afternoon during a mooring, in the Pracana dam, with the pilot unharmed, informed the Civil Protection.
The Pracana dam is located on the Ocreza river at the mouth of the Pracana stream, between the municipalities of Mação (district of Santarém) and Vila Velha de Ródão, in the district of Castelo Branco.
According to the ANEPC website, at 21:45 508 operatives were fighting the fire, with the support of 162 vehicles.
The fire that broke out at 17:50 in Águas Santas, municipality of Caldas da Rainha, district of Leiria, and which mobilized 120 operatives, is already in the resolution phase, according to the ANEPC page.
Also in resolution is the fire that broke out at 18:30 in Sortelha, municipality of Sabugal, district of Guarda, and that came to mobilize more than 100 firefighters.
