The Government of Madeira (PSD) has already invested around 500,000 euros in the creation of a firebreak in the highlands of Funchal, in a forested area along the Caminho dos Pretos, the president of the executive said today.
“It’s a very large area. We have around 648 hectares in this area. We are concluding an intervention that will mean that this area is already almost 50% covered, both on public and private land,” said Miguel Albuquerque.
The head of the Madeiran executive was speaking as part of a visit to the site, where deforestation work is underway.
Miguel Albuquerque explained that a tank with a capacity for 1,500 cubic meters of water has been built upstream and the whole area is equipped with 25 fire hydrants, every 500 meters along the road, over a length of 10.5 kilometers, in order to guarantee greater safety and more effective intervention by the fire department in the event of a fire.
“On the other hand, around 40 kilometers of forest paths are already being built in this area,” he said, indicating that, after the cleaning, an ecological park will be created in the central area of the Caminho dos Pretos, with a recreational and leisure area.
Throughout the area that has already been cleared, which was previously covered by eucalyptus and acacia trees, native species and others that are more resistant to fire, such as laurels, beeches, grapevines, massarocos and oaks, have been planted.
“Some areas have been given to sports and recreational associations to use for their activities,” added Miguel Albuquerque, who took the opportunity to appeal to the population to clean up the areas around their homes before the hot weather arrives.
The aim of the firebreak along the Caminho dos Pretos is essentially to create a buffer zone of low-combustibility vegetation, to reduce the degree of vulnerability of the population of Funchal to forest fires and to provide the area with the means to facilitate the work of the fire departments.
