The forest fire in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park in central Portugal, which has already ravaged 17,000 hectares, has been “mastered“Said civil protection on Saturday.
Nearly 1,500 firefighters, however, remained mobilized early Saturday afternoon, supported by air resources, to prevent new outbreaks of fires, said Civil Protection Commander Miguel Cruz.
This forest fire is already the most important this summer in Portugal, devastating the world geopark recognized by Unesco in the region of the Serra da Estrela mountain, which culminates at around 2000 meters.
After being declaredmastered“in the night from Friday to Saturday, the forest fire entered”in a phase of active vigilance” before “be able to be declared completely extinct” in “probably a day or two“, explained Mr. Cruz during a press briefing.
The flames have already ravaged more than 17,000 hectares of vegetation in this protected natural park, according to the latest still provisional estimate from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
The recovery of the ecosystem of this natural park is our “priority” and it’s “work that has already begunsaid Elmano Silva, one of the heads of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF).
Exceptional drought
This forest fire has so far caused 16 minor and three serious injuries among the professionals deployed in the field, while 116 people have been moved preventively, but have already been able to return to their homes, according to the latest report from the emergency services.
As the Civil Protection Command comes under fire for its handling of operations, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Friday he wanted to know “what should have been done to prevent the fire from taking on this magnitude“.
Portugal, which is experiencing an exceptional drought this year, experienced the hottest July in almost a century.
Since the start of the year, some 79,000 hectares have already gone up in smoke, the largest area since the deadly fires of 2017 which killed around 100 people, according to the ICNF.