Year: 2022

Returning to paradise for residents and visitors – Gambelas rural fire

Following the rural fire that affected large areas betwewen Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo, Sulformacao interviewed David Thomas President Safe Communities  and Antonia Vignolo, advisor to Safe Communities Portugal on major disaster preparedness

Published By Pedro Lemos, Sulnformacao -15^th July 2022

“Antonia Vignolo still has the scene from the day before yesterday very vivid in her memory: «it was frightening – the flames were 10 meters from our house. The Italian, who lives between Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo, was one of the people who evacuated her home in fear of the fire. With the fire under control, these tourist resorts are now trying to become synonymous with paradise for tourists and residents, after the hell of Wednesday, the 13th.

It was close to 9:00 am when Antonia began to get alarmed.

“I smelled the smoke, went to the terrace and saw many black clouds. I saw ash falling and then I got worried”, she says, near her house, in the Quinta da Jacintina area, between Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo.

Antonia Vignolo knows what she’s talking about.

The Italian, who has lived in the Algarve for two and a half years, is a specialist in EP&R of Prepared International (PPI), an experts organization whose main clients are the World Bank, UN agencies, NGOs, Governments, among others and soon decided what to do in this case.

“I saw that we should start preparing, pack our essentials and leave the house: me, my parents and our four dogs and a cat”, she recalls.

And the truth is that, in “half an hour, 45 minutes”, the flames reached Antonia’s house.

“They were there, in front of our house”, she points out.

“We were very afraid because we have tall trees, very tall palm trees, but in the end, we didn’t have any damage to our house”, she says.

Antonia’s father was the only person who stayed at home to be able to “follow the situation”.

“The moment he saw that the flames were going to reach our garden, he went back inside, took a hose and started to water everything, our garden, but also the neighbours’ gardens”, she says.

This measure was, in the words of the young Italian woman, ‘very useful’, as was the removal of ‘the gas cylinders’.

The tranquillity with which Antonia talks reflects the feeling that was experienced yesterday at Quinta do Lago.

After the fear Wednesday, when flames threatened homes, yesterday this tourist resort lived an almost normal day.

Smoke could still be seen – and breathed in – and, in the many areas of pine forest and once lush gardens, there was a trail of destruction, with burned trees and damaged road signs.

The Ludo, Pinheiros Altos and Valverde areas were the most affected. On the roads, fire engines could also be seen, while the noise of the helicopter, attentive to any re-ignition, was a constant.

David Thomas is the president of Safe Communities Portugal an association that engages between the international community and the different security and civil protection forces in the region. He commented that Wednesday was a day of great concern. “Many people contacted us to find out how things were going, where was the fire, how was it spreading, if the fire was close, what should they do”, he tells the report of Sul Informação.

On the Facebook page, Safe Communities has been publishing “several updates” about the fire that have been the subject of «many comments and shares».

In the opinion of David Thomas, the many foreigners residing in the Algarve were “aware” of the danger of fire these days.

“It is important for people to know how to react, to follow the instructions of the authorities and to understand that, in a large fire, it is not possible to have a firefighter at the door of every house”, he says.

After the moments of panic, Antonia Vignolo, who is also a volunteer and adviser at Safe Communities, managed to return home around 9 pm, when the GNR reopened the access.

The memories of a day of panic were left behind, but also a certainty: in the end, the scenario could have been even worse.

Pilot André Serra dies in the crash.

In a statement, the Civil Protection indicates that the plane that crashed in the early evening was “a FireBoss amphibious plane, from the Centro de Meios Aereos de Viseu, assigned to the Special Device for Fighting Rural Fires”.

The pilot later named as Pilot André Serra aged 30 years lost his life in the crash.

Also according to the statement, the aircraft “crashed this afternoon while operating in the Fire in Torre de Moncorvo, Bragança, with the alert having been given at 19:55 and there was a fatality to be recorded, the pilot-commander of the aircraft”.

According to the national commander of Civil Protection, André Fernandes, resources have already been sent to the scene, namely an INEM helicopter, Air Force search and rescue resources, firefighters from the Guarda and Bragança districts, elements of the Maritime Police, and a Civil Protection coordination helicopter.

In the last two decades, six Portuguese pilots who participated in firefighting operations died in about a dozen accidents.

Prime minister Antonio Costa on Twitter “It was with great dismay that I learned of the death of the pilot who operated an aircraft that crashed this afternoon in the fight against the fire in Torre de Moncorvo.

I send my deepest condolences to family and friends.

To all the operatives who are on the ground, I convey my solidarity and gratitude for their commitment and dedication to fighting the fires that have ravaged our country.”

Civil Protection revealed that, from 8 to 14 July, 9098 occurrences were recorded.

According to national commander André Fernandes, more than 33000 operatives participated in these events, supported by 8000 vehicles.

Number of occurrences is the highest in the last five years.

“Managing the available resources in such a context is a huge challenge” because, due to the current weather conditions, any ignition generates a violent fire.

José Luís Carneiro (Minister of Internal Administration) revealed at a press conference that fires are being extinguished in less than 90 minutes. Therefore, the resources “are having a degree of effectiveness in the order of 90%”.

This means that the “Portuguese firefighters” and the Civil Protection resources have “shown great effectiveness in the fight to these occurrences”.

The Secretary of State for Internal Administration Patrícia Gaspar explained about the EU Civil Protection Mechanism response that “almost all countries in southern Europe are facing the same problem with fires”. That’s why the Spanish planes came and went on the same day and that for now only Italy was able to send support.

SINTRA: PALACES, CASTLE AND CONVENT CLOSED TILL 17 JULY DUE TO FIRE RISK.

Adding to the already existing closures on the south entrances to the forest/sites now it’s almost the entire perimeter of Serra de Sintra that it’s closed. Including the touristy sites.

Palace and Park of Pena, Moors Castle, Convent of the Capuchos and Park and Palace of Monserrate closed till the 17th by legal imposition, due to extreme risk of rural fire.

This closure is due to the situation of contingency decreed for the entire mainland between which determines the prohibition of access, circulation and permanence within the forest areas, previously defined in the municipal forest protection plans against fires, as well as in forest paths, rural paths and other roads that cross them.

Tickets previously purchased for Pena Park, Moors Castle, Convent of the Capuchos and Park and Palace of Monserrate can be used on any other dates.

Tickets for visits to Pena Palace on these dates can be refunded by contacting Parques de Sintra or using the form found on this link https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/…/encerramento…/…

RISK TODAY (map above)

The rural fire risk is at EXTREME/VERY HIGH today throughout the mainland. The risk is being influenced by forecasts of exceptionally low Relative Humidity (RH) levels, very high temperatures and moderate winds. The Algarve, Centre an north east are all at MAXIMUM fire risk. Unusually the northwest and Alentejo are at VERY HIGH risk.

RURAL FIRE HAZARD (FWI) (Map above)

Around two thirds of the mainland including the south and centre is at MAXIMUM, the extent of which has not been seen for some years. The north east is very high and the northwest high to moderate. The major fires of 2003, 2017 and 2018 have all been when the FWI was similar.

The rural fire hazard index comprises six indices that quantify the effects of fuel moisture and wind on fire behaviour, including its intensity and spread – these conditions ultimately affect the difficulty in fighting a fire, one a fire gets hold. The wind today has increases particularly in Algarve and highlands.

SITUATION OF CONTINGENCY MEASURES

Within the scope of the Declaration of the Contingency, provided for in the Law of Civil Protection Bases, the following exceptional measures are in place:

1) Prohibition of access, movement and permanence inside the forest spaces previously defined in the Municipal Forest Defence against Fire Plan, as well as on its forest paths, rural accesses and other accesses that cross them; (exceptions for residents and workers)

2) Prohibition of extensive burning and burning cut and piled waste;

3) Prohibition of work in forest areas with use of any kind of machinery, with the exception of those associated with rural fire fighting situations;

4) Prohibition of works in rural areas using blade or metal disks chains, lawn mowers, shredder and machines with blades or front shovels.

5) Total prohibition on the use of fireworks or other pyrotechnic items regardless of their form of combustion, as well as suspension of the permits issued;

Disobedience of these measures is a crime.. Situation of

Contingency here in English with link to Portuguese.

HIGHEST NUMBER OF FIRES SO FAR THIS YEAR ANEPC SITUATION REPORT 1200 HRS 9^TH JULY 2022

Carnaxide, Oeiras, Jul 9, 2022 (Lusa) – Portugal reached the maximum number of fires this year this Friday, with 121 ignitions, announced today the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), appealing to the population to take special care be careful in the face of the expected aggravation of heat.

In the ‘briefing’ to the media, held at 12:00 at the organisation’s headquarters, in Carnaxide (Oeiras), Commander André Fernandes highlighted that there are three fires of greatest concern in fighting the flames, namely in Ourém (Santarém district), Carrazeda of Ansiães (District of Bragança) and Vale da Pia (District of Leiria).

“There is a worsening of the situation, namely in the southern region. We are experiencing an almost unprecedented situation from a meteorological point of view. The situation will continue and it is forbidden to use machinery in these days that follow to lower the number of ignitions, which have been increasing”, said the ANEPC official, noting that the 121 registered ignitions “are the maximum this year”.

• 121 Rural fires registered yesterday, 08JUL2022
• 3 significant active occurrences: Ourem, Carrazeda de Anisaes and Pombal
• The highest number of incidents have been registered in the Porto districts (36); Aveiro (15) and Lisbon (14)
• 10 operatives suffered minor injuries
• A destroyed house (Ourém)
• Ourém with only 20% of the perimeter now active

Fire danger remains at very high levels and max. Aggravated in the South

UPDATE – 10h15 8th July 2022

Although still active, the National Civil Protection Authority has confirmed that the forest fire is under control. A total of 335 operatives supported by 104 vehicles and four aircraft/helicopters are deployed.

UPDATE 0930 hrs 8th July 2022

The fire remains active overnight. As at 0920 rs a total of 386 operatives supported by 120 vehicles and 3 aircraft/helicopters are deployed.

UPDATE 2300 hrs

The fire remains ACTIVE

A total of 370 operatives supported by 114 vehicles are deployed.

Although the wind has slowed down in the last few hours, strong gusts are expected during the night , which makes combat difficult and can lead to re-ignitions. The fire has already spread to the neighboring municipality of Águeda , where it is evolving with some intensity.

Aircraft have been withdrawn overnight.

SITREP 1750 HRS

The fire that broke out at 12:18 in a forested area in Sever do Vouga, in the district of Aveiro, is still active, with more than 300 people fighting the flames, a source from Civil Protection told Lusa.

“The fire remains active, with one of the fronts still causing some concern due to the difficulty of access”, said the commander of the District Operations and Relief Command (CDOS) of Aveiro, José Pinto, at 17:30.

In addition to the lack of access, firefighters are also experiencing difficulties with the strong wind that is felt in the area and which, according to José Pinto, could cause reactivations “in areas where the flames were already under control”.

“Our objective is that overnight the fire is resolved”, said the same official, adding that, for now, there are no houses in danger.

SITREP 1700 hrs

As at 1655 hrs the number of operatives had been considerably increased to 368, supported by 107 vehicles and six aircraft/helicopters

SITREP 1600 HRS

The fire is being fought by 253 operatives, supported by 73vehicles and seven fixed wing aircraft/helicopters

According to the Severan firefighters, the fire breaks out in a forest stand in a “critical zone”, but without endangering homes.

Speaking to Lusa, the commander of the District Center for Relief Operations (CDOS) of Aveiro, José Pinto, said that the fire has been raging around some villages, but the firefighters have managed to protect the populations.

The flames spread with intensity due to the wind that was felt, moving towards the municipality of Águeda, namely Ventoso, in the Union of Parishes of Préstimo and Macieira de Alcôba,

Temperatures in the afternoon above 30ºC and forecast at night above 20ºC

Some wind in the afternoon (5km/h), but with a tendency to increase during the night (25km/h)

Humidity will not go above 38%

It is, therefore, the first big fire of the summer in the region of Aveiro.

As at 1747 hrs there were 34 fires, 13 of which were at active, eight were in resolution and 13 in conclusion. A little earlier there were 38 fires.

At 1747 hrs a total of 1691 operatives were deployed, supported by 480 vehicles and 28 fixed wing aircraft/helicopters. In terms of air deployment this was nearly half of that available under the DCIR. As an update at 1925 hrs 1877 operatives were deployed support by 540 vehicles and 23 aircraft.

It was interesting to note monitoring the fires throughout the day, that 16 of these fires were registered between 1600 and 1700 hrs, as temperatures increased and the RH, and with fire operations being hampered with strong winds such as at Frágua, where over 360 operatives are deployed.

Nearly all the fires were in the centre and north of the country.

No doubt we will hear more about this in the briefing at ANEPC later this evening.

OUR CONGRATULATIONS

Our many congratulations to the emergency teams who are playing a massive role, including the aircraft pilots and crew, Bombeiros, civil protection special forces, GNR, ICNF and INEM and all other entities deployed.