Fire in Madeira with two active fronts. Pico Ruivo is the most worried

The fire in Madeira continues this Thursday morning with two active fire zones, one of which has grown into the central mountain range, mainly in Achada do Teixeira, Pico Ruivo, and is the most worrying, according to a civil defense source.

“At the moment we still have two areas that are of concern to us, mainly in Achada do Teixeira, in Pico Ruivo, in the central mountain range of the island of Madeira. In this area, we had some events during the night due to the wind action, with the fire advancing towards the eastern slope of Pico Ruivo and heading down towards Fajã da Nogueira, which is of concern,” the president of the Regional Civil Protection Service told Lusa.

According to António Nunes, the flames are also spreading downwards to the north towards Caldeirão do Infierno, also in the municipality of Santana, which is also worrying as it is located in the Laurissilva forest.

“In Laurissilva the fire is spreading more slowly. It is impossible to control the situation around these mountains, because these cliffs are impossible to reach, because the slopes are very steep,” he noted.

As for Ponta do Sol, according to António Nunes, the fire spread “with the wind”.

“It’s spreading up the cliff. We have personnel positioned on top of the cliff and we have to wait until the flames reach a point where the slope allows direct combat,” he said.

According to the president of the regional civil defense service, the helicopter will be deployed as soon as conditions permit.

“We are waiting for the arrival of two Canadair aircraft and a helicopter, as soon as it is possible, it will take off. Now we will make an assessment and then, if possible, we will start combat operations, as we are doing at the moment. I do not know the wind conditions in the mountainous area,” he said.

According to António Nunes, the two Canadairs are expected to arrive in the morning and, weather permitting, begin operations in the afternoon.

The rural fire on the island of Madeira broke out on August 14 in the mountains of the municipality of Ribeira Brava and gradually spread to the municipalities of Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Sol and through Pico Ruivo Santana.

Authorities ordered about 200 people to leave their homes as a precaution and set up community reception centres, but many residents have already returned, with the exception of those in Fajã das Galinhas, in Camara de Lobos.

Fighting the blaze is being made difficult by wind and high temperatures, but no damage to homes or important infrastructure has been reported.

Some firefighters were treated for exhaustion or minor injuries without further injury.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System, the area of ​​burnt areas exceeds 4,930 hectares.

The Judicial Police are investigating the cause of the fire, but the President of the Executive Power of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, said it was arson.