About 1,400 people have already been “preventively displaced” due to the fire that broke out on Saturday in Odemira (district of Beja) and that this afternoon spread to 1,257 hectares per hour, according to Civil Protection.
Speaking to journalists at 19:30, at the command post in São Teotónio — parish where the rural fire started, in the Baiona area -, the regional commander of Emergency and Civil Protection of Alentejo, José Ribeiro, said that 125 animals were also displaced and that 22 people received medical assistance, all in “less serious situations”.
Of these 22 people, four (three firefighters and one civilian) were treated in a hospital setting and 18 (14 firefighters and four civilians) were assisted on site.
At stake were cases of fatigue and anxiety, he specified.
According to José Ribeiro, the fight against the flames – which this afternoon entered Odeceixe, in the Algarve municipality of Aljezur – has been carried out in “very difficult conditions”, due to the rotation and intensity of the wind.
“The rate of expansion of the fire between 12:00 and 17:00 was 1,257 hectares per hour and at this stage we have an area of interest for the theater of operations of around 6,700 hectares”, he said.
By 19:30, the regional commander stressed, the fire had two active fronts, one of them towards the northwest and the other “facing south/southwest towards Aljezur and Monchique”.
José Ribeiro added that, at that time, a total of 837 operators were involved in operations to combat the flames, supported by 266 vehicles and 10 air assets.
“In addition to combat operations, preventive actions were developed with the priority of safeguarding citizens, in this sense, 1,400 people and 125 animals of different species were displaced in a preventive way”, he added.
Questioned by journalists about the possibility of evacuating more villages, the official acknowledged that this scenario is “always present” in the Civil Protection plan and that, if necessary, it will be done again, “in a preventive way to safeguard the safety of the population “.
According to José Ribeiro, the Chamber of Odemira activated two zones of concentration and support for the population in São Teotónio and in the county seat and the neighboring municipalities of Aljezur and Monchique have also already set up prevention spaces.
Admitting that the next night will be “a lot of work” for the teams involved, José Ribeiro said he expected conditions to be “more favourable” than the previous night, as “higher relative humidity values” are expected.
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