The fire in Madeira remains under control, with “active surveillance” underway to prevent re-ignition.

The fire that broke out on August 14 on the island of Madeira remains under control, with a situation of “consequences” and “active surveillance” to prevent re-ignitions, local authorities announced Sunday.

According to a source in the regional secretariat of health and civil protection, the current situation with the fire that raged on the island of Madeira 12 days ago remains one of “consequences” and “active surveillance”.

“Only a few operatives remained at the scene to monitor and prevent further fires,” the same source reported.

Early Sunday morning, the Civil Protection Service reported that the fire was “controlled and in the aftermath stage”, with no active focus but still some hot spots.

Although the situation is currently under control, the fire is not yet out and teams will remain vigilant on the ground to prevent possible re-ignitions, regional civil protection commander António Nunes told Lusa.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System, the area of ​​burnt areas exceeds 5,045 hectares.

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

Since the fire began, authorities have ordered nearly 200 people to leave their homes as a precaution and have set up community shelters, but many residents have returned home.

Firefighting efforts were hampered by wind and high temperatures, but there were no reports of injuries or destruction of homes or important public infrastructure, according to the regional government, although some small-scale agricultural production and forested areas were damaged.

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.