The President of the Republic said this Thursday that he is in “constant contact” with the Minister of the Interior because of the fire that broke out in Odemir and stressed that “so much devastation” must be responded to.
“I am in constant contact with the Minister of the Interior, we knew the calm, and now the situation regarding Odemira is being worked out. I also once again spoke with the mayor of the Odemira city council and will speak at least with more members of the government,” he said.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who spoke to TVI and RTP on a beach in the Algarve, said that “in addition to forestry, agriculture and tourism are now at stake.”
The head of state stressed that “there was great solidarity”, which “was impressive”, with “farmers who helped farmers, with neighboring municipalities who helped this municipality”.
“But now we must roll up our sleeves and see how the answer to such a great devastation is invested in the eternal,” he warned.
The President of the Republic pointed out that “the problem in Odemir, in addition to the wind, was the temperature, the lack of humidity and the difficulty of responding due to the terrain, orography”, but considered that “even in this case, the answer was that it was possible under the circumstances “.
while “today [esta quinta-feira] the day is unfortunately too hot”, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he hoped “these days will not be too many, because it would be convenient to maintain a certain decrease in temperature”.
Asked about the statements made by the president of the Agency for Integrated Rural Fire Management (AGIF) that led to the resignation of the Liga dos Firefighters, the head of state said that he “didn’t follow the situation very well”. but pointed out that “the Home Secretary wanted to appease the Firemen’s League.”
“I think the AGIF president immediately apologized and admitted that things didn’t go well,” he noted, emphasizing that “it is imperative that we all be united and stay united not only during this period, because the problem of fires “.
The fire that broke out on Saturday in the municipality of Alentejo in Odemir and engulfed the municipalities of Monchique and Aljezur (Faro) this morning has still mobilized almost 1,000 operational personnel and six air assets, although it has been under control since Wednesday.
The blaze, thought to be under control on Wednesday, still has several troubling points, especially on the southern front, so firefighters should remain on the ground for the coming days, a civil protection source said at a briefing on Wednesday. .
The area covered by this fire is about 8,400 hectares, and the perimeter is 50 kilometers.
The fire destroyed at least two houses, one as the first house in Vale Juncale, in São Teotoniou, in the municipality of Odemira, and the other, which will be a holiday home, in the Boavista area, in Odeseix, in the municipality of Aljezur. .
The blaze also destroyed a rural tourism facility, also at Veil Hunkal, whose owners complained about the lack of help from firefighters.
On Tuesday, the League of Portuguese Firefighters delivered a letter to the Prime Minister demanding the resignation of the president of the rural fire management agency, Tiago Oliveira, arguing that it was an “incorrigible breach of trust” after he questioned in Parliament in July that “the fire brigades are obtained by the area of the burnt, “taking into account the” perverted goal.
On the same day, the Minister of the Interior refused to comment on this demand of the firefighters, explaining only that he understood Thiago Oliveira’s explanations.
FM (TA/MAD) // JPS
Lusa/The End
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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