The inhabitants of Portela do Vento went this afternoon. around 16 pm, removed, as a “precaution”, some of them by force. However, the eastern front of the fire is uncontrollable and approaches the village of Monchique.
The GNR, in cooperation with the municipal Red Cross and Social Action, started the evacuation of people. At the beginning of this fire, on Friday and Saturday, it was at this location in Portela do Vento, on the edge of the EN266, that the command post was installed, yesterday removed to Monchique.
At the point of situation made shortly after 13 pm, in Monchique, the District Commander of Relief Operations in the Algarve said that there was then «a front facing south, towards the village of Monchique, which is without access to means of combat, either aerial or terrestrial, and another front, more to the east, which follows the EN00 and which, in its more northerly side, can evolve towards Nave Redonda».
After having already been evacuated the village of Moitinhas, in the neighboring municipality of Odemira, in all, since the fire broke out on Friday, at around 13:30 pm, 110 people have been preemptively displaced – 79 from the Algarve and 31 from the district of Beja.
Commander Vaz Pinto also said that 30 operational workers were assisted, with symptoms mainly associated with high temperatures.
At the moment, 831 operational vehicles are on the ground, supported by 223 vehicles, namely crawler machines to try to cut the path of the flames, as well as 12 aerial means, including light and medium helicopters, Fireboss and Canadair aircraft.
However, on one of the fronts, facing south, there are above all "scarps, stone walls", according to the mayor of Monchique, so that "neither land, nor planes or helicopters" are able to get there. As such, the operational forces are "working further ahead to try to stop the flames there".
National road 266, known as the Savóia road, is still cut off, not least because one of the fire fronts has been progressing along it. In fact, the fire has already crossed this road and may now be heading towards Alferce.
With these two fronts active, fire is surrounding the village of Monchique.
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