The villages of Castelão and Feiteira, in the parish of Cachopo, were evacuated about an hour ago, as a precautionary measure, due to the approaching flames of the fire that has been raging for more than 24 hours in Serra do Caldeirão, municipality of Tavira.
Meanwhile, to strengthen the air resources – which include a Spanish Canadair plane, four Portuguese bomber planes and three helicopters – a Portuguese Air Force helicopter has now been joined.
The approximately 100 people, mostly elderly, who live in these two hills are being sent to Cachopo, where the command post is located, as well as to other hills, protected from the line of fire, said José Graça, chief of staff of the mayor of Tavira.
Meanwhile, traffic on the EN124 road, between Cachopo and Feiteira remains cut off, as well as the EN 397 road, which connects Cachopo to Tavira, and the National Road 392, cut in the Monte da Ribeira area, are also closed.
The fire, which started yesterday at around 14:00 in the Catraia area, is being fought by more than 400 men, supported by bomber planes and helicopters, but it still remains to be controlled, with four active fronts.
The authorities however decreed the special state of alert, which went to orange level (the second most serious on a scale of four) in the district of Faro, to “increase the readiness of forces by 50 percent and their refreshment”, as there are operatives fighting the fire for long hours.
The Algarve firefighters were reinforced with teams from Beja, Évora and Setúbal, to which five military platoons were joined.
Photo: Carlos Filipe de Souza
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