António Martins stated that this morning there were three separate ignitions between Favais and Alvadia, in the northern area of the Alvão mountain range, in the municipality of Ribeira de Pena, district of Vila Real.
The fire that is causing the most concern broke out at around 07:30 and, according to the commander, spread into four fronts, highlighting the difficulties posed by the lack of access.
“The head of the fire is inaccessible, and will have to be tackled by air,” he said.
According to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) website, as of 12:00, 130 operatives, 38 vehicles, and eight aerial units had been deployed to the firefighting effort.
“It will be a difficult fight due to the lack of access for heavy vehicles; we will heavily rely on aerial support to combat this fire,” António Martins reiterated.
The Alvão mountain range spans the municipalities of Vila Pouca de Aguiar, Ribeira de Pena, Vila Real, and Mondim de Basto. These last two municipalities were affected by another fire that erupted on Saturday, was brought under control by Wednesday morning, and burned about 3,000 hectares.
On Thursday, another fire consumed approximately 500 hectares of the Alvão mountain range, near the village of Pinduradouro, in the municipality of Vila Pouca de Aguiar, in an area very close to Alvadia.
