Fire in Madeira has two active fronts but does not threaten homes

The fire that broke out on Wednesday in western Madeira maintains two active fronts in Madeira’s municipalities. Ponta do Sol And Ribeira Brava– the president of the regional civil defense service reported on Monday, stating that the houses were not in danger.

“We have two active fronts regarding this fire: in the upper part of Encumeada, above Estaguem da Encumeada. [Ribeira Brava]and in the Paul da Serra area [Ponta do Sol]which goes down the slope to Ribeira da Tabua,” said António Nunes.

Speaking to Lusa, the official explained that the fire front in Ponta do Sol was “somewhat concerning”.

“We have a team on site at the moment assessing how best to tackle the fire, in this particular area we even had a helicopter out to do reconnaissance to get a better idea of ​​what is going on. Organise the operatives so that we can put an end to this as quickly as possible,” he said.

Although the fire did not threaten homes, resources were deployed near residential buildings on the banks of the Tabua River.

António Nunes noted that a total of 168 firefighters are involved in the fight against the two fronts of the fire: 77 from the Madeira fire brigades, 76 from the joint force of the National Directorate of Emergencies and Civil Protection, which arrived in Madeira early on Sunday morning, and 15 firefighters provided by the Autonomous Region of the Azores, who arrived early this morning.

The device also mobilizes 48 vehicles.

Although the weather in Madeira was still very hot, the wind had weakened and the President of the Civil Protection described the situation as favourable for extinguishing the fire.

“The temperatures haven’t dropped significantly, but the wind has died down significantly, which is very good news for us because the wind is actually one of the factors that is causing the fire to spread further and has forecasts that are very inconvenient,” he said.

Active fires in the municipality of the city. Ribeira Bravain the west of Madeira, are far from the housing and situation in the parish Serra de Agua is under control, the chairman of the chamber noted.

In Serra de Agua, where the situation was already alarming and the fire was close to houses, there are currently “small secondary fires, some small outbreaks of fire, but they are under control,” Ricardo Nascimento told Lusa agency at around 1:30 p.m.

“The fire has already moved to other places, to the high areas of Ribeira da Tabua, but it is far from the population, firefighters are controlling it, and also to the very high areas of the Furna section, which is also far from houses,” the front line.

The mayor also said that the municipality is cleaning up some municipal roads and paths.

Most of the residents evicted from their homes in recent days and housed in the municipality’s sports hall will be able to return home this afternoon.

He said it was simply necessary to exercise “some caution when returning people” from the Achada dos Aparicios area.

Regarding weather conditions, Ricardo Nascimento noted that they are more favorable for extinguishing fires.

Also, according to the president of the Ribeira Brava city council, the fire that broke out on Wednesday did not cause any casualties or displacement of people.

According to him, at the moment, damage has been recorded to haystacks, warehouses, agricultural lands, and some animals have died.

Ricardo Nascimento also reported that a small support office has been set up in the Serra de Agua Parish Council building to monitor these cases.

The rural fire broke out on Wednesday in the Ribeira Brava mountains, spreading to the neighbouring municipality of Camara de Lobos the following day and to the municipality of Ponta do Sol via Paul da Serra over the weekend.

By Sunday, 160 people had been evicted from their homes as a precaution and taken to community facilities, but many residents had already returned or were returning home.

Firefighting efforts were made more difficult by calming winds and high temperatures, but there were no reports of injuries or damage to homes or critical infrastructure.

Around two hundred fighters (including from the mainland and the Azores) and several dozen vehicles, in addition to the archipelago’s air force, have been mobilized to fight the fire, with attention focused mainly on the municipalities of Ribeira Brava and Ponta do Sol.

Regional government president Miguel Albuquerque says it was arson, but the cause has not yet been revealed.

THAT fire in the mountains Serra de AguaIn the Madeiran municipality of Ribeira Brava, the fire has died out and people evacuated on Sunday are returning to their homes.