According to the national commander of Emergency and Civil Protection, Mário Silvestre, there have been “63 incidents recorded between 00:00 and 17:00, 17 of which occurred during the night,” with 2,210 operatives, 713 vehicles, and 32 aircraft involved.
“Yesterday [Thursday], we logged 85 incidents, 80 of which were resolved within the first 90 minutes, essentially meaning that 94.12% of yesterday’s incidents were resolved,” he stated.
During a briefing at the headquarters of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) in Carnaxide (Oeiras, Lisbon district) at 19:00, Mário Silvestre mentioned that there were five fire outbreaks that warranted significant concern.
The fires requiring the most resources are in the parish of Piódão, in the municipality of Arganil (Coimbra district), Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, in the Guarda district, in the municipality of Armamar (Viseu), in Vila Real, and in the municipality of Castro Daire (Viseu).
“The Arganil fire presents a much more stable situation, although the work is lengthy due to the area’s steep slope,” explained Mário Silvestre, adding that the Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo fire “could be resolved in the coming hours.”
Regarding the fire in the municipality of Castro Daire, which broke out today around 17:00, the ANEPC commander acknowledged that it is a “complex fire” due to its “high propagation speeds.”
