The mayor of Ourém, Luís Albuquerque, told Lusa news agency today that 60% of fires are of criminal origin, after yet another fire in the municipality.
In recent years, the municipality of Ourém, in the district of Santarém, has often been hit by flames. Luís Albuquerque said that this summer alone the municipality has had “60 ignitions”.
“Sixty percent of fires are considered intentional. We need to increase surveillance of the forest and put more resources on the ground to see if we can identify the criminals who have been doing this job,” said the mayor.
Luís Albuquerque, who said he was still unaware of the area burnt as a result of the fire that started on Wednesday, insisted on the need to “strengthen prevention and the authorities’ investigation”.
According to him, a large number of operatives are still on the ground to ensure the aftermath.
Albuquerque also warned that “there is still a lot of work to do”.
In view of the drop in temperatures, Luís Albuquerque was cautious: “Let’s see what happens over the next few days”.
The fire in Urqueira was reported to be contained at 05:06, commander Elísio Pereira of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) told Lusa.
According to the ANEPC website, at 10:06 there were 431 operatives on the scene, supported by 134 vehicles and one aircraft.
The fire broke out at 18:33 in Estreito, Urqueira, in the municipality of Ourém.
