A group of 61 Spanish children are among the 77 people who had to be evacuated on Tuesday because of the fire that broke out in the town of Zambujeiro, in Alcabideche, Cascais, commander Elísio Oliveira said today.
In anupdatetothemedia at the command post, at around 13:15, the regional commander of Emergency and Civil Protection of Lisbon and Tagus Valley said that a total of 77 people had to be removed from that area because of the fire.
“We maintain the number of 77 people who went to the support areas, of which 61 are children. It is a group of Spanish scouts. At the moment, everything is being prepared for them to collect their equipment and return to their country,” he told reporters.
The authorities are assessing whether the rest of the people are able to return home because “some of them are elderly” and we must “guarantee their well-being so that they can return to their homes”, he said.
Regarding the injured, Elísio Oliveira said that there is another injured firefighter today, with a sprained foot, who is being evaluated.
In the situation point made at 11:00, the commander specified that, two of the injured were discharged, five are in Cascais Hospital “in follow-up” and one is in Santa Maria Hospital, in Lisbon, due to an eye injury.
On Tuesday night, Civil Protection had said that nine firefighters suffered minor injuries in fighting the flames, mainly in “exhaustion situations”, while four civilians were assisted “by smoke inhalation”.
Referring to the firefighting, commander Elísio Oliveira explained that the goal is to continue “all the work that has been developed so far” and maintain this device throughout the day “to ensure the consolidation of the entire perimeter of the fire”.
Asked about the forecast of increased wind intensity, Elísio Oliveira said that “there are always a number of factors that do not depend on the fighters”, but they will keep working with mechanical tools, with the trail machines and with the support through water lines to “ensure that, throughout the perimeter of the fire, it is possible to separate what is green and what is burned to ensure that there will be no reactivations”.
The commander also highlighted the work of all the forces involved in fighting this fire, saying it was cooperative.
“The firefighters have been excellent in all the work, as have the elements of the ICNF [Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests] and the elements at INEM in support of all the elements that were assisted and evacuated. It has been a cooperative work of all entities”, he highlighted.
The forest fire broke out near 17:00 on Tuesday, in Zambujeiro, in a mountain area, and, with the force of the wind, the flames moved towards a dense urban fabric, without reaching, however, to burn houses or other buildings.
The fire was reported to be contained by 04:00.
By 14:00 there were 453 operatives on the ground, 144 vehicles and three aerial means.
Alcabideche fire: Two injured from Alcabideche discharged and animals removed back to kennels
Fire in Caiscais 2023 Last Update 15:25: fire contained, traffic resumed on A5
