The interior minister said on Tuesday that the government would “consider” the request for a permanent increase in air resources to fight the fires in Madeira, but also stressed that it was too early to conduct such an analysis.
“The government will evaluate all these issues. We can do everything to improve the conditions of the Madeirans. Everything that the regional government understands that it needs from the central government, we will sit down and study what is best for the population,” he said. Margarida Blasco talks to journalists on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new commander of the Special Police Unit Pedro Teles at the headquarters of the PSP leadership in Lisbon.
Expressing the government’s “great solidarity” with the people of Madeira in the face of the fire that has engulfed the autonomous region for almost a week, the governor recalled the impact of the combination of orography and strong winds and noted that the leader continues to “monitor and communicate” the situation.
“It is too early to assess at this point. We need to assess everything. The fire is still burning, we still have to put this fire out as quickly as possible, if the weather conditions allow. And after the aftermath, it is done. Then we will work with the regional government of Madeira and the people of Madeira to assess what the needs are and what can be improved. At this point, I cannot answer, we must first help the people,” he said.
Margarida Blasco declined to comment on the controversy surrounding the “timing” of the Madeira regional government’s requests for help to the continent, saying only that “this contingent was requested and provided immediately,” with 78 people being sent to the region, for whom they had gathered more operatives from the Azores on Monday.
“Reinforcements arrived when it was possible to go, when it was necessary to respond to the growth of fires,” he added, noting that “meteorological factors are changing” despite existing means of prevention and control.
A rural fire in Madeira broke out on Wednesday in the Ribeira Brava mountains and spread to the municipality of Camara de Lobos the following day and to the municipality of Ponta do Sol via Paul da Serra over the weekend.
Until Sunday, 160 people had been evicted from their homes as a precaution and taken to public facilities, but many of these residents have already returned or are returning home, with the exception of Fajã das Galinhas in Camara de Lobos. However, on Monday they announced the evacuation of about 60 people in Fourne.
This morning, the president of the Regional Civil Protection Service, António Nunes, told Luce that the fire had five active fronts in hard-to-reach areas of three municipalities, but the flames were burning at low intensity.
The regional government said efforts to fight the blaze were being made more difficult by calming winds and high temperatures, but no damage to homes or important infrastructure had been reported, according to the regional government. A firefighter was hospitalized for exhaustion.
According to forecasts from the European Forest Fire Information System, seven thousand hectares have burned since the fire began.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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