The main front of the fire that has been raging for three and a half days in the Serra de Monchique has reached the Odelouca Dam and the firefighters will "become better equipped to fight it", revealed the National Civil Protection Authority, at a press conference this evening .
This point of the situation was made at a time when the flames are at the gates of the town of Monchique and which, confirmed Colonel Duarte Costa, operational commander of the ANPC, «they have already passed through Alferce, which has always been protected». However, to what the Sul Informação found out, there were houses and agricultural annexes affected by the flames, namely in the Fornalha area, within walking distance of Alferce.
This village was, in fact, isolated for over an hour, surrounded by flames and with the road access cut off.
Duarte Costa was confident that field workers will have better conditions to fight the fire, not only because of the barrier that the Odelouca reservoir represents, but also because of the forecast of a change in weather conditions, with an increase in relative humidity «to 50%” and lower temperatures.
"I hope that overnight we manage to control this fire, which has been going on for too long," said the ANPC operational commander.
the same responsible He added that the means continue to be reinforced in Monchique, with more "five combat groups" currently on their way to the Algarve, comprising elements of the special firefighters, GNR and Armed Forces. There are also eight more track machines, which will join the 32 that are already there.
Despite guaranteeing that the situation in Monchique and Alferce is “under control”, Duarte Costa admitted that, in the small housing clusters that were being evacuated during the afternoon, the houses “may have suffered the action of the flames”.
“We were not able to make the perimeter defense of all the small towns, we are concentrating on the larger nuclei. The small clusters, from which the people were removed, may have suffered the action of fire. But, from what was transmitted to me, most of Monchique is safeguarded and the population is protected», he said.
The official said that the population was "safeguarded", and people were removed from the places at risk to the center of the village, "in an orderly manner".
As for the explosions that are heard in the village of Monchique, "they are probably bursting gas bottles" in houses that were hit by fire.
Bearing in mind that the flames have been around for about three hours, at the gates of Monchique, “several buses were requested”, but which, with the favorable evolution of the fire, “apparently, they will not be needed”.
"Don't panic, listen to the recommendations of civil protection agents," advised the ANPC operational commander.
Meanwhile, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, has already declared that the European Union is “ready to help” in the fire situation in Monchique
At the moment, according to the Civil Protection website, there are already almost 1000 workers fighting the flames on various fronts, supported by 284 vehicles.
Remember that the fire started on Friday, the 3rd, at 13:30 pm, in the Perna da Negra area, north of Monchique, almost in the border with the neighboring municipality of Odemira. Since then, in three and a half days of fire, the flames went up a slope of the mountain, down to the valley where the village is located, up to the hill opposite, the Cerro da Picota, and now they are descending the southeast slope, having passed Alferce and being in the Odelouca Dam area.
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