“From what we’ve been able to count so far, we have one primary residence that burned down, belonging to a family of four people, a couple and two children, who fortunately have the possibility of staying in another home,” said Francisco Carvalho.
Speaking to Lusa agency, the mayor of Penalva do Castelo Municipality also said that “there are several agricultural tool storage areas that have also burned, but it’s not yet possible to count” the rest.
“The Penalva do Castelo Fire Department is also short on resources because one vehicle burned and two more broke down today,” he added.
Francisco Carvalho said that “until now, Penalva do Castelo was an oasis in the region” and this time, “everything is burned.”
On Monday, “240 hectares of burned area had already been counted, but the number has certainly increased.”
Francisco Carvalho also told Lusa agency that “this morning the civil protection emergency plan was activated.”
This fire started in Miuzela, spread to the neighboring municipality of Mangualde, and is in line with the municipality of Nelas, said the Mayor of Mangualde, who lamented the existence of four villages at risk.
Marco Almeida specified that the localities of Mourilhe, Mesquitela, Fundões, and Cunha Baixa “are in the line of fire” and “the effort being made is to protect these locations.”
“It’s very windy, and unfortunately, the resources are far less than what’s needed, despite reinforcements arriving from the Algarve. But the aerial resources are having great difficulty because of the smoke and wind,” said Marco Almeida.
At 10:30 AM, the Viseu Dão Lafões Sub-regional Command mobilized 347 operatives, supported by 91 vehicles and three aerial resources for the Folhadal fire in Nelas, which was alerted at 11:53 AM on Monday.
In Penalva do Castelo, the fire that broke out in Miuzela at 00:15 AM on Monday, which spread to the neighboring municipality of Mangualde, remains active. It mobilized 153 operatives with 45 vehicles and two aerial resources.
Also in the Viseu district, in the municipality of Castro Daire, in the parish of Mões, a fire in scrubland that started at 21:23 PM on Monday in Soutelo mobilized 169 operatives supported by 44 vehicles and six aerial resources.
Still in the Viseu district, in the municipality of Vila Nova de Paiva, a fire in forest land that started at 17:18 PM on Monday in Vila Cova à Coelheira mobilized 73 operatives with 19 vehicles and one aerial resource at the same time.
The fire in Mangualde caused one fatality during the night due to sudden illness, confirmed today by a Civil Protection source to Lusa. According to a source from the Viseu Dão Lafões Sub-Regional Command, the house did not burn.
The fire in Nelas has so far caused seven injuries, two of them serious.
