The municipality of Câmara de Lobos has supported the action of planting trees in areas affected by the fire, as part of a “symbolic initiative” of what needs to be done after clearing the land.
“At this stage, it was a symbolic initiative: we planted about a hundred trees in the Boca da Corrida area,” said this Monday the president of the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, one of the municipalities affected by the fire that broke out on August 14 on the island of Madeira.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, the mayor said it was necessary to “clean up some of the damaged sites, cut down the ash-covered trees and prepare the land because winter and rain are coming.”
“After the ashes lies hope,” he noted, pointing out that the action was developed in collaboration with the parish councils of Jardim da Serra and with the support of the regional government through the Secretariat of Agriculture and the Institute of Forestry and Nature Conservation.
Leonel Silva also added that “logistics are being prepared so that once the land is cleared, we can plant new trees,” since at this stage the soil is not yet prepared and there is not enough water for irrigation.
According to the person in charge, “more than 1,000 trees” need to be planted in the areas engulfed by the fire.
“Peace and life must go on. This cleanup action is being coordinated with the regional government,” he added.
The 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. After 13 days, the regional civil defense reported that the fire was “completely extinguished.”
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, the area of burnt areas exceeds 5,045 hectares.
As the fire raged, authorities ordered nearly 200 people to leave their homes as a precaution and set up community shelters, but many residents 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.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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