Five hundred firefighters deployed until Wednesday in high-risk areas

Nearly 500 firefighters will be deployed between Saturday and Wednesday to reinforce the areas at greatest risk of rural fire, at a time of higher temperatures, the Government has announced

Photo: Facebook Bombeiros of Portugal

In a statement, the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI), headed by José Luís Carneiro, says that 96 teams were formed, composed of 480 elements of the fire brigades, which will be "in greater readiness in this period, to strengthen the capacity of initial attack on rural fires".

"The decision to constitute the exceptional device was based on the high temperatures that can be seen in various parts of the mainland, associated with the situation of drought caused by precipitation values well below average," justifies the Ministry.

Thus, says the note of MAI, these teams will be "implemented by order of the National Operational Command of Emergency and Civil Protection in the Sub-regional Commands subject to greater pressure from the number of fires and the evolution of the weather scenario.

"This exceptional device is in addition to what was already on the ground, because the country is currently at the level of permanent commitment of the Special Device for Fighting Rural Fires," it adds.

According to figures released by the Government, in the period between 01 January this year and 07 April, 1810 rural fires were registered, resulting in 6,614 hectares of burnt area, between forest stands (1,575 hectares), bushes (4,965 hectares) and agriculture (74 hectares).

These figures, calculated up to April 7, represent the 6th highest figure in number of fires and the 5th highest in burnt area since 2013.

On Monday, speaking to journalists outside the inauguration of the Matosinhos PSP police station, Minister José Luís Carneiro warned that 2023 will be "even more difficult" than 2022 in the fight against forest fires, asking people and institutions to be prepared.

The minister stressed that the Portuguese State, Civil Protection and local authorities are trying to do their part, but everyone has to contribute because 55% of the fires that broke out in 2022 were due to negligence.

The area burnt in the 2022 fires was more than three times the area burnt in 2021, with rural fires consuming 109,514 hectares by the end of September, the highest figure since 2017, according to data released in October by the Institute of Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).