The information was provided by the second national commander of Emergency and Civil Protection, Mário Silvestre, during a briefing held at 10:45 AM at the district command post in Oliveira de Azeméis.
The commander began by explaining that the operation to combat the four fires in Águeda, Albergaria-a-Velha, Sever do Vouga, and Oliveira de Azeméis was taken over by the National Command of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection.
After a helicopter inspection of the fire perimeter, Mário Silvestre said the situation is “quite complex,” adding that “the windows of opportunity to fight the fire” during the night did not materialize.
“The wind has not helped us. During the night, we had winds around 70 kilometers per hour, with temperatures of 25 degrees and relative humidity around 30%,” he observed.
The commander also mentioned that, during the night, 57 people had to be evacuated from their homes, with 54 victims reported, of which 17 had to be transported to the hospital as a safety measure.
According to Mário Silvestre, at 10:45 AM, the fire was still active around its perimeter, but the priority was mainly focused “on the south of the fire, in the Águeda area, to the left of the A25 highway, which is the area of most concern.”
“It’s a very dispersed fire with an evolution guided by wind behavior,” said Mário Silvestre, adding that currently, no settlements are at risk, but “it’s a reality that can happen at any moment, given the existing urban fabric.”
Regarding the mobilized resources, the commander mentioned that rotations are planned, emphasizing, however, that the number of fires the country is facing puts the response system “under great stress and pressure.”
Mário Silvestre also informed that there is still difficulty for aerial resources to operate in these fires due to smoke, with four aerial resources functioning in the Águeda area.
At least four people have died and 40 have been injured, two seriously, in the fires that have been affecting the North and Central regions of the country since Sunday, such as Oliveira de Azeméis, Albergaria-a-Velha, and Sever do Vouga in the Aveiro district. The fires have destroyed dozens of houses and forced the closure of roads and highways, including the A1, A25, and A13.
This morning, around 9:30 AM, the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) recorded more than 140 occurrences, involving over 5,000 operatives, supported by 1,600 ground resources and 21 aerial resources.
Civil Protection estimates that at least 10,000 hectares have burned in the Porto Metropolitan Area and the Aveiro region.
