The wildfire, which remained active above the village of Meãs this morning, intensified and spiraled out of control after 5 p.m., endangering two nearby villages with limited firefighting resources on site, stated Jorge Custódio.
“The situation has worsened significantly. The wind has changed direction, bringing high-speed winds, and currently, I have a completely uncontrolled fire approaching the villages of Meãs and Aradas. This was a village that was not in the path of the fire, and now it is,” emphasized the municipal president.
The fire is advancing within the parish of Unhais-o-Velho, and the headquarters of that municipality, located approximately three kilometers from the fire front, is also in peril.
Jorge Custódio further noted that resources at the site are critically limited: “There are very few air resources, vehicles, and personnel. Given the scale of the fire, we practically have no one.”
“At this moment, the scale has reached such a level, and it is so out of control that we no longer have enough vehicles even to protect the villages,” warned the mayor.
The fire, which began in the early hours of Wednesday in Piódão (Arganil), extended to the municipalities of Oliveira do Hospital and Pampilhosa da Serra, still within the Coimbra district, and also to Seia (Guarda) and Covilhã (Castelo Branco).
By 5:50 p.m., according to the website of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, a total of 912 operatives were combating the Arganil fire, supported by 306 vehicles and ten aerial resources.
