In the Viana do Castelo district, road traffic is restricted on the EN301 in both directions, with a closure between Extremo (Arcos de Valdevez municipality) and Paredes de Coura, according to the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR).
As of 16:15 today, in the Vila Real district, there are also road traffic restrictions in both directions on the EN304, with a closure between Alto do Velão and Ermelo, Mondim de Basto municipality, and on the IP4 near Arrabães.
In a statement, the GNR emphasized that the protection of people and property, especially in the context of rural fires, remains a priority through preventive actions and increased patrol efforts in forest areas.
By 16:30, more than 2,200 operational personnel and about 710 transport resources, including 19 aerial assets, were fighting 63 rural fires across mainland Portugal, notably in Vila Real and Celorico de Basto (Braga district), as reported by Civil Protection.
According to information available on the website of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), the fire in a brush area in Vila Real, which started at 23:45 on Saturday and remains active, is attracting the highest number of combat resources, with 456 personnel, 150 land units, and seven aerial means deployed.
The fire in Celorico de Basto, Braga district, which broke out on Saturday at 18:00, is also ongoing, with 286 personnel, 97 vehicles, and two aerial means involved, according to ANEPC.
The fires in Vila Real and Celorico de Basto were among the significant incidents as of 16:30 today, along with three other rural fires, including one in Arcos de Valdevez, Viana do Castelo district, which ignited on Sunday evening and remains active, with 57 personnel and 20 vehicles engaged.
Civil Protection identifies significant occurrences as those meeting criteria: status “in progress” (expanding without area limitation) or “under control” (no further risk of spread), lasting more than three hours, and involving over 15 protection and rescue resources.
Mainland Portugal has been on alert since Sunday and will remain so until Thursday due to the high risk of fire, the Minister of Internal Administration announced on Saturday.
The five northernmost districts of mainland Portugal, namely Bragança, Porto, Vila Real, Viana do Castelo, and Braga, are under red warning today, the highest on a three-tier scale, due to extremely high maximum temperatures, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
The red warning will extend until 18:00 on Tuesday, at which point it will change to an orange warning for Vila Real and Bragança and yellow for the remaining districts.
The other districts in mainland Portugal have orange warnings until 18:00 on Tuesday, except for Beja, which is on yellow, and Faro, which remains the only district without any warning.
