A forest fire still mobilizing some 1,500 firefighters on Thursday destroyed around 10,000 hectares of vegetation in the mountainous region of the Serra da Estrela natural park. This is located in the center of Portugal.
Still provisional estimate provided by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the area burned by this fire, which broke out on Saturday in the municipality of Covilha, corresponds to one tenth of the 100,000 hectares of this geo -world park classified by Unesco in 2020.
On Thursday, columns of smoke continued to rise above the wooded hills on the east side of the town of Manteigas, where the back and forth of water bomber helicopters might be heard as they tried to slow the progression of the flames.
“The fire remains active despite a favorable development,” commented Civil Protection Commander Miguel Cruz during a press briefing at midday.
Charred pines
Since Saturday, several slopes of the surrounding mountains have been totally blackened by fire, being now covered with charred pines.
“It’s a bit of disarray when you see this landscape. It almost makes you want to cry”, testifies to AFP Jonathan Demolin, a 35-year-old French tourist who came from the Orleans region to spend holidays in the region. birthplace of his in-laws.
According to the authorities, the fire caused eleven minor injuries among the firefighters. A campsite and a river beach were evacuated on Wednesday and a total of 26 people were temporarily displaced from their homes and two second homes were damaged.
Civil protection criticized
In the neighboring village of Verdelhos, affected by the fire on Tuesday, the inhabitants experienced moments of panic. “The fire came from all sides. It looked like it was going to engulf Verdelhos. It was horrible,” recalls 43-year-old cafe owner Sandra Marcelino.
Like her, many local residents were very critical of the civil protection command for not having been able to prevent the spread of fire on the highest mountain in Portuguese mainland territory, which culminates at some 2000 meters.
The mayor of Manteigas, Flavio Massano, also criticized the rescue services, accusing them of having concentrated their efforts in the protection of the areas where the cycling tour of Portugal passed this weekend, to the detriment of the forest.
In a press release, the Ministry of the Interior acknowledged that it would be necessary to analyze the management of operations.
“Forest Abandonment”
The biodiversity of the Serra da Estrela natural park is “the first victim” of these fires, regretted the association for the defense of the environment Quercus, considering that these fires are in particular the result of an “abandonment of forests”.
Portugal, which is experiencing an exceptional drought this year, also experienced the hottest month of July in nearly a century, according to the national meteorological institute.
Since the beginning of the year, some 74,000 hectares have already gone up in smoke, according to the latest estimates from the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF).
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / afp
