More than 300 operatives supported by 12 aerial resources are fighting a fire that broke out today in an area of scrubland and forest in Picota, in the municipality of Monchique, the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) announced.
A source from the Algarve Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command told Lusa that the alert was received at 14:51 and that, when it was detected, “the fire was immediately very intense”, without, however, putting homes or buildings at risk.
“At the moment, and in view of the heavy commitment of resources, the fire is starting to die down. It’s not yet under control, but it’s giving way to the resources,” explained the same source.
At 18:15, the fire that broke out in that municipality in the district of Faro mobilized 309 operatives, supported by 89 vehicles and 12 aircraft, according to the ANEPC website.
According to the source at the regional command, two of the aircraft are for coordination and the rest are for combat, including medium Firebox combat aircraft, heavy Canadair aircraft, light helicopters and a heavy Kamov aircraft.
The combat teams have already managed to deploy resources on “the entire left flank and the right flank”, but they are still trying to tackle the “head” of the fire,” he added.
“They [the firefighting units] are progressing from the flanks to the head, and of course we still need to get units in front of the head of the fire,” he said.
The same civilian source said that the fire is burning in the direction of the town of Fornalha, south of where it broke out, but stressed that, although it is heading in that direction, there are no reports of homes or buildings at risk.
“The resources are safeguarding against this eventuality and are committed to resolving this situation as quickly as possible,” said the Civil Protection source, pointing to the wind as one of the factors that most worried the firefighters.
The Algarve Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command acknowledged that this was a “concern” that already existed, which is why the region was on “special yellow alert”.
The wind, because “in addition to pushing the fire faster” and favoring an “easier progression” of the fire, also “causes some projections”.
“But they are being fought with the means on the ground, both air and ground,” he said.
