“One of the fire fronts approached very close and surrounded the entire village of Nuzedo de Baixo. As a preventive measure, the Safe Village Safe People plan was activated, which consisted of confining people to a safe place in the center of the village. It was a momentary situation, as a precaution. When the fire front was extinguished, people returned to their homes normally,” explained Commander João Noel Afonso from the Sub-Regional Command of Terras de Trás-os-Montes to Lusa.
Although the fire was brought under control during the night, all resources will remain on site, including aerial support, to help consolidate hot spots that still exist, said Commander João Noel Afonso.
The fire started at 4:21 PM on Sunday and at one point had three active fronts.
“The fire was characterized by an extremely violent start. It quickly reached three fronts at a very early stage and continued to develop throughout the day on these three fronts with great intensity. The greatest difficulties were the terrain. We’re talking about a very mountainous area with many settlements and pine forests. Then in the late afternoon and early evening, the wind began to intensify, making all firefighting actions very difficult,” detailed João Noel Afonso.
Two roads were closed during the firefighting efforts – National Road (EN) 103, between Rebordelo and Vinhais, and Municipal Road (EM) 529, between Vale das Fontes and Nuzedo de Baixo.
This morning, a source from the National Republican Guard informed Lusa that EN103 reopened around 3:20 AM. EM 529 has been passable since 7:20 AM.
As of 8:15 AM today, the fire was being tackled by 254 operatives and 90 vehicles, according to data from the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority.
