Rural Fire Carrascal, Castelo Branco
Major Incident
Location: Beira Baixa | Castelo Branco
Santo André Das Tojeiras, Carrascal
Occurrence: 20230945339
Type: Forest Settlement
Registered: 14.09 hrs Friday 5th August 2023
Status: CONCLUSION
UPDATE 10th August 2200 hrs
Deployment 217 operatives and 69 vehicles
Fire at a conclusion stage.
UPDATE 1630 hrs
Copernicus EMS Imaging – Castelo Branco Fire
EMSR681 IRCasteloBranco Portugal 🇵🇹
Our Rapid Mapping Team has delivered its first Delineation Product using VHR satellite imagery, detecting 6517 ha of burnt area🔥
A Delineation Monitoring Product is planned for tonight
Fire remains in resolution
Fire remains under resolution with 691 operatives supported by 236 vehicles and two aircraft
UPDATE: 0830 hrs 7th August
Fire remains at resolution meaning no risk of spreading beyond current perimeter. Total 809 operatives supported by 299 vehicles remain deployed at TO
UPDATE: 22.00 hrs
Deployment 769 operatives supported 286 vehicles
August 6th at 18h45
Civil Protection has done a press conference minutes ago where it was declared that the fire is IN RESOLUTION
However it was stressed that the area is so vast that operatives will remain on site for several days.
UPDATE 1830 HRS
The Câmara de Castelo Branco declared this Sunday the alert situation throughout its municipality, in force until Tuesday, “which may be extended if the situation so determines”
The municipalities of Castelo Branco and Proença-a-Nova, which are being affected by a fire that has been raging since Friday, declared this Sunday the alert situation in their territories and activated the municipal emergency plans.
The Câmara de Castelo Branco declared this Sunday the alert situation throughout its territory, in force until Tuesday, “which may be extended if the situation so determines”, said the municipality, in a press release sent today to the Lusa agency.
The declaration stems from “the need to adopt preventive and special reaction measures in the face of the maximum and very high fire danger, foreseen by the IPMA [Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere] for the municipality of Castelo Branco, and also from the strong commitment of the various civil protection agents and entities with a special duty of cooperation, at the municipal level, in the rural fire that occurred in the town of Carrascal”, he clarified.According to the press release, the alert situation determines the activation of the municipal emergency plan, the prohibition of access, circulation and stay inside previously defined forest spaces, prohibition of burning and total prohibition of the use of fireworks he Chamber of Proença-a-Nova, a neighbouring municipality that is also affected by the fire that has been raging since Friday, also declared an alert situation today and activated its municipal emergency plan, the mayor of the municipality, João Lobo, referring that the municipal civil protection commission met today and was “unanimous” in making such a decision.
The declaration of an alert situation “allows you to speed up some type of work and activate certain means”, he explained.
Although the fire continues with only hot spots and some flare-ups that have been quickly quelled, “hot days” are expected until Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to drop, he said.
As at 1815 hrs a total of 916 operatives supported by 325 vehicles and 4 aircraft are deployed.
Image of the perimeter of the #RuralFire in the area of #SarzedasCarrascal, at 12:30 hours today (06/08), created by the decision support core (NADAIR), from a multispectral image collected by the Recognition, Evaluation and Coordination Plane.
The ANEPC revealed, this Sunday, that the fire that broke out on Friday in Castelo Branco, and which spread to the neighbouring municipality of Proença-a-Nova, remains “active” and has, in this moment, “four most critical points” .
“The estimated burned area is 7,000 hectares, but the potential of this fire points to more than 20,000 hectares. The focus, at this moment, is not to let there be new reactivations with a period longer than 15 minutes”, said the second Regional Commander of Emergency and Civil Protection of the Alentejo, José Guilherme, in a ‘briefing’ on the situation of the fire at 11:30 am .
“Unfortunately we have registered 11 minor injuries so far”, he added.
The second civil protection commander also added that at the moment there are no communication routes prohibited or closed to road traffic, but left an appeal for people to use these routes only in case of need, since they continue to circulate there many times. Civil Protection vehicles and other entities fighting the fire
In a new situation regarding the fire, the 2nd Regional Commander of Emergency and Civil Protection, José Guilherme Marcos, revealed that “it is managing to maintain what is the stabilization” of the fire perimeter, “which already has 60 kilometers of perimeter” .
“We are talking about a very large area “, he noted, also highlighting that this area has “in between many villages”, dispersed, one of the “constraints” for the operatives.
” Right now, our focus is not to let there be new reactivations, which have an extinguishing period of more than 15 minutes”, he added, explaining that a “pair of planes and armed monitoring of the fire” remain in place in case of there should be a “stronger reactivation”.
According to the Commander, there are “four most critical points, which deserve greater attention”.
Apart from these four points, the fire does not offer, for now, greater concern, but we will keep the situation of the fire as active”, he said, noting that he will enter “a period in which” the “slopes” are “all facing to the south” and “exposed to very hot temperatures”.
Current deployment 1126 operatives supported by 387 vehicles and 3 aircraft
The fight is evolving very favorably and we anticipate that in the next few hours, if it continues like this, at the end of the day we will make a new assessment. It all depends on the weather conditions and the wind, above all. The focus will be on the four points to avoid stronger reactivations”, he concluded.
The fire that broke out on Friday in Castelo Branco and which also affects the neighbouring municipality of Proença-a-Nova is without active fronts, but with hot spots, said mayors, noting that the work is progressing favorably. According to the Civil Protection page, at 11:40 hrs, 1,121 operatives, supported by 389 vehicles and two aerial means, were fighting this fire. According to Civil Protection Commander José Guilherme, the fire currently has an extension of 60 kilometres, and affects several villages and towns, which makes it difficult to fight the flames.
The commander adds that so far there are 11 minor injuries to be registered, with five firefighters being assisted on site. Six of the injured required hospital treatment. Of these, four were firefighters, one was a GNR soldier and one was a civilian.
“We have two hot spots, but they are circumscribed”, said the mayor of Castelo Branco, Leopoldo Rodrigues, to the Lusa agency. According to the mayor, “the work is progressing favourably”, with consolidation and aftermath work being carried out in most of the perimeter. Leopoldo Rodrigues said that the next few hours will be essential to control the fire, before the weather conditions get worse.
Also in the neighbouring municipality of Proença-a-Nova there is no active front, but “three hot spots that still raise apprehension”, said the mayor, João Lobo, to Lusa. “We have the entire perimeter recognized, we have already had a rekindling or another, but today is D-day. It is the day when we have to manage to consolidate the perimeter of the fire and control rekindling. If we manage to do that, we will have the fire in a state of resolution at the end of the day”, he stressed.
Despite some hope, the mayor noted that it will be a “very demanding” day, registering already 32ºC, at 10:00 am, in Proença-a-Nova. “The situation is much better than on Saturday. The combat actions during the night, with the drop in temperature, allowed us to now have a more favourable situation”, highlighted João Lobo.
The four aircraft request from Spain are expected to arrive today.
UPDATE 0630 Hrs 6TH AUGUST
Fire remains Active with 1131 operatives and 400 vehicles deployed.
UPDATE 0800 HRS 6TH AUGUST 2023
According to satellite estimates, #IRCasteloBranco this is already the biggest of the season so far in Castelo Branco with the fire shown on the right affecting some 6000 hectares. On the image this is the only fire remaining active as at 0800 hrs 6th August 2023, others in resolution or conclusion
Fire remains Active with 1131 operatives and 400 vehicles deployed.
Current deployment 1172 operatives and 396 vehicles
The fire that broke out on Friday in Castelo Branco caused six minor injuries, one of which was a civilian, the Center’s Regional Civil Protection Command said today.
“The fire that burns in Castelo Branco and Proença-a-Nova is still active with four fronts with a lot of projections and the estimated burned area is at 6200 hectares”, said the second Regional Commander of Emergency and Civil Protection of the Centre, Jody Rato, in a ‘briefing’ on the situation of the fire at 20:15.
At the moment, according to Commander Jody Rato, “there are confined villages” and “others where there has been a temporary withdrawal of the population”.
“The National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) has so far assisted four people and there are six lightly injured, one civilian and the rest are operational”, he underlined.
Asked about the strategy to be followed for the night, the official explained that “it will be a difficult fight” that involves “consolidating the burnt areas (to avoid reactivations)” and betting on an “indirect fight”, using the crawler machines, with which “some success has been achieved”.
“It is a very difficult fire. Due to its intensity and severity, we have favored indirect combat with crawler machines. We still foresee a few days of work, either in extinguishing or in consolidation and aftermath”, he maintained.
At the time of the ‘briefing’, the fire mobilized 1,106 operators, supported by 376 vehicles, 11 aerial means and 16 crawler machines.
UPDATE:
“João Lobo, Mayor of Proença-a-Nova:
It is effectively a very large area, and we can still foresee a very complicated day and night, with the expectation that, with a joint effort, we will be able to control the fire as soon as possible.
The Municipality has multidisciplinary teams on the ground to support the population, from the point of view of social and technical action, especially with those who have seen their property affected.
So far, there are no reports of injuries, only small occasional situations without the need for hospital care. There have already been vacant houses and haystacks that were consumed by the flames.”
IC8 remains cut off to traffic in the Proença-a-Nova area < > Perdigão
UPDATE: 1920 HRS
Deployment 1164 operatives 401 vehicles and 11 aircraft
The GNR said this Saturday that several roads were cut to traffic in Proença-a-Nova.
According to Captain Marco Ferreira, from the GNR Territorial Command of Castelo Branco, at 5:55 pm, the IC8 was banned from traffic between the Proença Sul junction and the Pedra do Altar junction. “The alternative is through Estrada Nacional 241, between Proença-a-Nova and Perdigão”, he said.
National Road 233 is also prohibited to traffic between Cimeira and Cerejeira catraia, and there is no alternative route on this road.
By early afternoon, the flames were beginning to approach homes. Rising temperatures are complicating firefighting operations.
Local authorities are awaiting the arrival of reinforcement teams from Lisbon. “A company from Lisbon composed of four combat groups is arriving and we are waiting for the arrival of another six combat groups”, said Jody Rato.
Civil Protection calls on the population to avoid circulating in areas adjacent to the fire and to avoid risky behaviour.
UPDATE 1815 HRS
Fire remains active.
A total of 1164 operatives supported by 404 vehicles and six aircraft remain deployed
Image of the perimeter of the #RuralFire in the area of #SarzedasCarrascal, at 1200 hrs today (05/08), created by the decision support core (NADAIR), based on multispectral image collected by AVRAC (Recognition, Evaluation and Coordination).
UPDATE: 1445 HRS
The fire has already consumed an area of forest estimated at six thousand hectares.
The information was advanced by the centre’s second operational commander for Emergency and Civil Protection, Jody Rato, at a press conference in which he took stock of the fight against this fire, which has already gained a considerable dimension and is divided into two fronts, one in the municipality of Castelo Branco and the other, more worrying, in the municipality of Proença-a-Nova.
As for the places withgreatest concern to the operators, they are, at the moment, Sobral Fernando and Moitas, in the municipality of Proença-a-Nova. The Mayor, João Lobo adds that, in addition to these points, many other villages were affected and are of concern, but that everything is being done to quell the flames quickly and enter into a consolidation phase.
Deployment 1113 operatives supported by 371 vehicles and 12 vehicles
UPDATE 1400 hrs
The deployment has now reached 1042 supported by 346 vehicles and 12 aircraft
The fire has three active fronts in the neighbouring municipality of Proença-a-Nova, the mayor told the Lusa agency, considering the “very difficult situation” and with no prospect of a resolution.
“The fire is influenced by the wind, that is, it progresses with a speed and intensity greater than the capacity of the resources that are in the theatre of operations.
The theatre of operations continues to be reinforced, either with ICNF brigades, or with reinforcement groups of firefighters or military platoons that were called in this morning to help with the surveillance of areas where the fire has already been controlled, thus allowing the repositioning of means of combat in front of the fire. This morning four amphibious planes were requested from Spain“, said Paulo Santos (Civil Protection).
In Fátima this morning, the Minister of Internal Administration, José Luís Carneiro, confirmed the request for help.
UPDATE 1200 HRS 5th August
Deployment 910 operatives supported by 17 aircraft
The mayor of Proença-a-Nova said that the prospects for an increase in wind intensity and temperature during the day indicate “a complicated day”, without any “expectation of controlling the fire” in the morning.
According to the mayor of Proença-a-Nova, João Lobo, given the evolution, the fire could enter the neighbouring municipalities of Vila Velha de Ródão and Mação.
The fire that broke out on Friday in Castelo Branco has three active fronts in the neighbouring municipality of Proença-a-Nova, the mayor told the Lusa agency, considering the “very difficult situation” and with no prospect of a resolution.
“It is a very difficult situation and one that requires the commitment of professionals”, said the mayor of Proença-a-Nova, João Lobo. According to the mayor, the fire in his municipality was divided into three fronts.
One of the fronts passed the area of Moitas and heads towards the town of Pergulho, another evolves towards Vale da Mua, and a third is close to Sobral Fernando, he said.
According to João Lobo, given the evolution, the fire could enter the neighbouring municipalities of Vila Velha de Ródão and Mação .
All three fronts are active and are cause for great concern. The wind was relatively calm during the morning, but the fire, as it has a very large extension, generates its own wind, given the masses of hot air”, said João Wolf.
The mayor of Proença-a-Nova said that the prospects for an increase in wind intensity and temperature during the day indicate “a complicated day”, without any “expectation of controlling the fire” in the morning.
In the municipality of Castelo Branco, much of the perimeter “is in the aftermath phase”, maintaining an area with an active front and which still causes concern, the mayor, Leopoldo Rodrigues, told Lusa.
The mayors of the two municipalities say that there is no record of injuries or of the first homes affected by the fire
In the municipality of Castelo Branco, much of the perimeter “is in the aftermath phase”, maintaining an area with an active front and which still causes concern, the mayor, Leopoldo Rodrigues, told Lusa.
The mayors of the two municipalities say that there is no record of injuries or of the first homes affected by the fire.
Today, August 5th, at 1:15 pm, the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) takes stock of the situation of the fire that broke out in a forest area this Friday afternoon in Santo André das Tojeiras, Castelo Branco.
The situation will be conducted by the 2nd Regional Commander of Emergency and Civil Protection of the Centre, Jody Rato.
Location: Command Post installed in Sobreira Formosa, municipality of Proença-a-Nova.
UPDATE: 1130hrs
Deployment 839 operatives supported by 273 vehicles and 18 aircraft.
Note: as far as it is known this is the largest deployment on a single fires in Portugal.
Burned area shown EFFIS
UPDATE -The fire that broke out on Friday in Castelo Branco has three active fronts in the neighboring municipality of Proença-a-Nova, the mayor told the Lusa agency, considering the “very difficult situation” and with no prospect of a resolution.
In the municipality of Castelo Branco, much of the perimeter “is in the aftermath phase”, maintaining an area with an active front and which still causes concern, the mayor, Leopoldo Rodrigues, told.
Deployment with 800 operatives and 259 vehicles with 13 aircrafts
IC8 section closed to traffic between Perdigão and Moitas
UPDATE:0830 hrs
Increased deployment with 764 operatives and 251 vehicles with first aircraft to arrive since day break. More will be deployed shortly.
Spain had been asked for reinforcements of air assets to fight the fire front.
Three platoons of soldiers are carrying out surveillance operations in places where the fire has already been controlled.
The wind and the characteristics of the terrain are conditioning the fight against the fire
UPDATE 0700 HRS 5TH AUGUST
Deployment 688 operatives and 232 vehicles
UPDATE 2300 HRS
The fire that is raging in Santo André das Tojeiras, municipality of Castelo Branco, with “some intensity” in certain areas, due to strong wind, told Lusa a Civil Protection source.
Photo Lennie Freeman
A source from the National Emergency and Civil Protection Command told Lusa, at 21:30, that the fire was still active, in some parts “with a lot of intensity and with many projections, due to the intensity of the wind in the place”.
“We hope that, as the night progresses, the temperatures will drop and the wind will cease to be so intense in order to facilitate combat” and allow the fire to be controlled, added the same source.
With no air resources on site, due to nightfall, three crawler machines are working, in order to help with consolidation and firefighting, he also detailed.
The fire broke out at 15:00 in a forest area near the village of Carrascal, Santo André das Tojeiras, in the municipality of Castelo Branco.
The Civil Protection source also stressed that there were no reports of injuries or people evacuated from their homes, despite having been close to several villages.
“The means at the site managed to quell the situations before the fire reached the houses”, he pointed
UPDATE: 2210 hrs
Fire remains Active
Deployment 582 operatives supported by 170 vehicles.
UPDATE: 1950 hrs,
Deployment 425 operatives supported by 128 vehicles and 11 aircraft Comment: one of the largest deployment of groundforces on a single fire this year.
UPDATE 1840HRS
According to the commander of the Sub-regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command in Castelo Branco, Pedro Nunes, an aircraft ditching occurred at the Pracana dam, “about an hour ago”.
The pilot was unharmed and at this moment [17:45] we are still assessing the damage to the plane”, Pedro Nunes told the Lusa agency.
The Pracana dam is located on the Ocreza river at the mouth of the Pracana stream on this river, located between the municipalities of Mação (district of Santarém) and Vila Velha de Ródão, in the district of Castelo Branco.
According to the sub-regional commander of Emergency and Civil Protection of Castelo Branco, it is a Fire Boss amphibious plane that was fighting the fire that is burning in a forest stand in Santo André das Tojeiras, municipality of Castelo Branco, since 15:09 .
He also added that the fire “is not yet under control”.
Deployment 340 operatives 100 vehicles and 11 aircraft.
UPDATE 1740 hrs
According to a source from Civil Protection the fire is burning with some intensity and is not yet under control. (Photos live at 1730 hrs)
Deployment 325 operatives 95 vehicles and 11 aircraft
Beira Baixa TV there’s a live report mentioning that there’s a British community living in this area (Santo André das Tojeiras, Carrascal),
https://www.facebook.com/beir…/videos/2059639957713566/…
UPDATE: 1657 hrs: Deployment increased to 255 operatives, supported by 75 vehicles and 10 aircraft
SITREP: 1610 HRS 4TH August 2023
Deployment 180 operatives supported by 47 vehicles and 9 aircraft
The fire is located close to the EN233
There are no reports of properties being at risk
Note: If anyone has more details of photos please add under comments.