Portugal requested on Wednesday that its European partners send firefighting planes to help extinguish a wildfire that has been raging for a week on the island of Madeira, threatening a forest listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“We will activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism in the coming hours to bring in two Canadair aircraft” to assist in the firefighting efforts on Madeira, a source from the LUSA news agency within the government stated.
The president of the regional government, Miguel Albuquerque, also announced on Wednesday that 60 firefighters and rescue workers had arrived as reinforcements from Lisbon, joining another 76 sent by the national government last Saturday.
As of Tuesday noon, the fire had burned an area of 43,920 hectares, an increase of 959 hectares in 24 hours, according to the European Copernicus observatory via satellite.
#EMSR748 #IR_Madeira
— Copernicus EMS (@CopernicusEMS) August 21, 2024
The #wildfire in #Madeira 🇵🇹 continues to burn 🔥
Our #MappingTeam delivered its 2nd Delineation Product to support emergency response activities
As of 20 August, at 11:40 UTC:
➡️A total burnt area of 4,392 ha has been detected (+959 ha in 24hrs) pic.twitter.com/LZujqkCwdC
On Wednesday evening, the flames continued to spread on two fronts in extremely inaccessible zones in the central mountain range of the island, which is highly valued by foreign tourists, off the coast of Morocco, according to Albuquerque.
Strong winds contributed to the spread of the fire and also caused significant disruptions to aircraft operations on Madeira, stranding tourists on the island. However, the company managing the Funchal airport assured on Tuesday that it was operating normally again.
The fire broke out last Wednesday in the municipality of Ribeira Brava and spread to the neighbouring Camara de Lobos and Ponta do Sol, on the south coast of the island, west of the regional capital Funchal.
Around 200 people had to be evacuated from their homes, mainly as a precaution against smoke inhalation, but most residents were able to return to their homes.
The flames did reach a “small” part of the Madeira tropical forest, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Antonio Nunes, head of the regional civil protection secretariat, told public television RTP.
(information from amna.gr)
