Controlled both fronts of the fire raging in Camara de Lobos.

The two fronts of a rural fire that was raging in the municipality of Camara de Lobos in Madeira have been brought under control and are almost extinguished, the president of the municipality, Leonel Silva, told the Lusa news agency.

“In the case of Camara de Lobos, we have the situation under control, the fire is practically out and is under surveillance because it could re-ignite at any moment, but we have already demobilized some devices to eventually redistribute them for other needs,” said Leonel Silva.

“I will also try to understand what the fire in the neighboring municipality of Ribeira Brava is, because there was an active area bordering the Camara de Lobos area,” he added.

The fire broke out on Wednesday in the municipality of Ribeira Brava, and later the flames reached Camara de Lobos. At one point late Sunday afternoon, the regional government indicated that one of the three active fronts had reached the Paul da Serra area, without specifying the municipality.

This morning, Calheta Mayor Carlos Teles said the affected area in Paul da Serra belongs to the municipality of Ponta do Sol, not his municipality, which was not affected by the fire.

According to the mayor of Camara de Lobos, at dawn they managed to suppress two fronts in his territory that were plowed near the parishes of Curral das Freiras and Fajão de Galinhas, forcing residents of both places to evacuate.

“The people who were expelled from Curral das Freiras returned yesterday. [domingo] at the end of the day. As a result of the activities we carried out in the affected area, we realized that people can return because safety conditions have been restored,” he said.

Regarding the residents evicted from Fajã das Galinhas, Leonel Silva said an on-site assessment would need to be carried out.

“In the case of Faja das Galinhas, since yesterday we had an active front [domingo] At night, we decided not to let people into their homes, into the City Hall Community Center. Today, I will go to this place together with the staff of the Civil Engineering and Municipal Civil Protection Laboratory to conduct an assessment, because, as you know, this is an area with a rocky slope and instability. Whenever it rains, there are landslides. Fires cause instability on rocky slopes,” he said.

The return of people will be determined within 24 hours, since, in addition to ensuring safety conditions, it is necessary to restore electricity supply in the area.

“In the morning, it is almost certain that people will not return to Fajã das Galinhas,” he noted.

Regarding the fire situation in other areas of Madeira Island, Leonel Silva said at around 08:00 that he would still look into what was happening.

According to the Civil Protection of the archipelago, since August 14, more than 500 professionals, including 400 firefighters and 120 forest police, have been deployed on a rotational basis to extinguish the fire, which broke out in Serra de Agua and has spread to other municipalities.

At least 160 people were evacuated from their homes due to the fire and placed in public spaces.