This Wednesday, the President of the Madeira Government rejected criticism for continuing his holiday in Porto Santo during the fire on the island of Madeira, saying that he accepts his responsibilities and that his actions must be judged by their results.
“If they try to intimidate me because it will stress me out, they are wrong,” Miguel Albuquerque (PSD) told reporters at the entrance to the Funchal City Council, where the ceremonial meeting of the Council Day is taking place.
The head of the executive authority assured that he has been monitoring the development of the rural fire “from the first hour” and recalled that, unlike other situations in the region, despite the fact that the fire lasted for eight days, there were no losses of human life, housing or material damage to the most important public infrastructure.
“We are now assessing the fires based on the results, and here are the results,” he stressed.
Regarding his absence – the Social Democrat interrupted his holiday in Porto Santo on Saturday to go to the island of Madeira and returned to Porto Santo a day later – he said: “Nobody gives me lessons on this matter, because I, unlike others, have never delegated my duties to anyone or said that it was the fault of the technicians.”
“I take political responsibility,” he stressed, citing Alice in Wonderland as a reference to the moment when the Queen of Hearts says, “First they cut off the head, and then they pass judgment.” In his view, “that is not the way to do it.”
Albuquerque said there was a need to “tone down the alarmist rhetoric” and considered the situation “safe.”
“There is a certain panic and I don’t understand why. Last year we had a fire in Calheta that destroyed 12 houses. There was no damage to any infrastructure, there were no injuries, no one was hurt, the houses were guarded, so the strategy was correct,” he stressed.
The head of the regional executive committee also highly praised the work of the president of the Civil Defense Service: “If this were wrong, we would have burned down houses, we would have injured people.”
Despite the fire that occurred eight days ago, Miguel Albuquerque believes that the fight is appropriate given that it is taking place in hard-to-reach areas, so the strategy is primarily to “protect residential areas, public assets and popular heritage.”
“It has been done,” he assured, also stressing that despite the request for new reinforcements of operatives from the continent heading to the region, there is no shortage of operatives to fight the fire.
“If there were not enough men in the key areas, the houses and residential areas there would be destroyed,” he said.
Recalling that this is the 25th rural fire he has faced in his capacity as President of the Chamber of Funchal (1994-2013) and of the Regional Government (since 2015), Miguel Albuquerque stressed that the situation must be assessed with “calmness” and reiterated that the outcome always depends on the variables that need to be protected.
“The firefighting is going well or poorly depending on the damage, the physical integrity, the human lives, the infrastructure,” he said, then insisted: “There were no human casualties, no injuries, no housing, no residential core destroyed, no infrastructure destroyed, so the results are positive.”
The rural fire in Madeira broke out a week ago, on August 14, in the Ribeira Brava mountains, spreading on Thursday to the municipality of Câmara de Lobos and over the weekend to the municipality of Ponta do Sol. Yesterday evening it also arrived in Pico Ruivo, municipality of Santana.
During these eight days, authorities ordered almost 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 Fajã das Galinhas in Câmara de Lobos and Furna in Ribeira Brava.
The fight against the fire was complicated by the dying wind and high temperatures, but there was no evidence of destruction of houses or vital infrastructure.
Data from the European Forest Fire Information System, cited by the president of the Regional Civil Protection Service, António Nunes, indicates 4,392 hectares of burnt area as of 12 noon on Tuesday.
The Judicial Police is investigating the cause of the fire, but the President of the Executive Power of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, claims it was arson.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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