Fires are relentless: roads are closed, fronts are active, and situations are becoming more worrying.

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Fires are relentless: roads are closed, fronts are active, and situations are becoming more worrying.

Fires are relentless: roads are closed, fronts are active, and situations are becoming more worrying.

In a statement regarding the balance of 12:45 today, the National Republican Guard (GNR) states that the EN236, between the towns of Castanheira de Pera (district of Leiria) and Alfocheira (municipality of Lousã, district of Coimbra); and the EN342, between the towns of Portela de Albergaria (border of the municipality of Lousã) and Ponte de Sótão (municipality of Góis, also district of Coimbra) are closed to traffic.

In the district of Guarda, in the municipality of Pinhel, the EN222, between the towns of Freixedas and Gouveias, and the EN340, near the towns of Freixedas, Pêra do Moço and Pinhel, are cut off.

Still in the district of Guarda, the EN233, in the municipality of Guarda, is closed near the towns of São Bartolomeu Vale Mourisco and Quintas; and, in the municipality of Sabugal, the EN324, near the towns of Quinta das Vinhas, Cerdeira, Rapoula do Coa and the Termas do Cró.

In the press release, the GNR reminds that the entire mainland territory is under a state of alert and that burning and slash-and-burn activities are prohibited, as well as rural work using machinery.

Fires in Portugal Pinhel credits: LUSA
Lack of visibility prevents aircraft from operating in front of Foz Côa

The lack of visibility is preventing aircraft from operating on the only active front of the fire originating in Sátão and Trancoso, facing Vila Nova de Foz Côa, the person responsible for fighting the fire told Lusa news agency.

“We are facing a difficulty, because we have the available air resources here, the fixed wing ones [planes], but we are unable to do so, that is, we have no visibility and there are no safe conditions for them to enter,” the commander on the ground, David Lobato, admitted to the Lusa news agency at around 12:00.

The Sub-regional Commander of Médio Tejo, who took command of the “Sátão/Trancoso complex” today, said that a helicopter flight was carried out to analyze security and “the pilot's recommendation is that there is no security.”

"It's a handicap to our strategy, but we have to wait for conditions to improve so that there is safety" and for the planes to fight what is called front three of this fire that started in two, in Sátão and Trancoso.

David Lobato added that this “active front has inaccessible access by land” and hence “this difficulty in combat”, as well as “hoping that the afternoon wind rotation does not cause rekindling of the work that has already been done there”.

At the moment, he said, the fire, which is “divided into three fronts, has “two that have already been resolved, that of Sátão and that of Sernancelhe”, both in municipalities in the district of Viseu.

The aforementioned front three faces Mêda, Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Fornos de Algodres and Trancoso, municipalities in the district of Guarda, “and it is this one that does not yet have a controlled perimeter, therefore, it is still active and even divided in two”.

“These two fronts are not very large, but we have not yet been able to circumscribe them, precisely because of the difficult access,” reinforced Commander David Lobato.

The night's work allowed for "some windows of opportunity, with little moisture entering, but there was some, and it was possible to overcome most of the two fronts" which were resolved.

Active front in Arganil threatens Pampilhosa da Serra again

The active front of the Arganil fire, near the town of Relvas, threatens to spread to the municipality of Pampilhosa da Serra, a constant trend over the past few days, said the mayor.

The municipality of Pampilhosa da Serra has been affected, in several places, by the fire that originated in Arganil, and the current most worrying front is once again threatening Pampilhosa da Serra, through the town of Cartamil, Mayor Jorge Custódio told Lusa.

That place, where there is a stream, a leisure area and a bridge with the same name, is in a steep valley that extends south between steep slopes of the Serra do Açor, and where several small villages are located.

"It's the front that worries us most; it's coming from the Arganil side and is moving down the slopes of Teixeira and Relvas, especially Relvas. At this point, this fire isn't yet in Pampilhosa [da Serra], but if it continues, as predicted, it will cross the water line to the Pampilhosa side," he explained.

Crossing the bridge in Cartamil, down the valley the nearest village is Mata, another place that could be threatened.

On the other hand, if the fire spreads to the western slope, you can head to Fajão, two kilometers away from Cartamil, one of the best-known and busiest towns in the area and home to 'Geocospe', the astronomical observatory of the Dark Sky Aldeias de Xisto project.

According to Jorge Custódio, the territory of Pampilhosa da Serra maintains, on the other hand, an active front in the northeast of the municipality, at the top of the village of Meãs, also resulting from the fire that started in Arganil on Wednesday, and also extended to the municipalities of Oliveira do Hospital, Seia (Guarda) and Covilhã (Castelo Branco).

The mayor noted that there are operational resources on the ground, but observed that the firefighters, after several days of fighting the fire, are exhausted.

Fires in Portugal Sabugal credits: LUSA
Ten-kilometer fire line and new front are causing concern in Sabugal

Locals and operational personnel are waging a "gainless fight" against the fire that has been raging since Friday in the municipality of Sabugal, in the district of Guarda, and has a front of approximately 10 kilometers.

"The fire front stretches from Baraçal to Peroficós, about 10 kilometers. The problem is that we have no visibility and don't know where the fire is," Vítor Proença, mayor of Sabugal, told Lusa news agency.

In the southern part of the border municipality of the Guarda district, there is, this morning, another active front that is approaching the town of Bendada and which is a cause for concern.

"The situation is more complicated because the flames are advancing strongly towards Bendada and Quinta do Clérigo, an annex of the parish of Águas Belas," said the mayor of Sabugal.

Vítor Proença once again laments the lack of resources in the theater of operations. "There are 160 men fighting the flames in Baraçal, plus 64 in the Bendada area. We needed at least double that number," he said. There is also an airborne unit operating on each front.

Also arriving in Sabugal is reinforcements from the GNR's Emergency Protection and Relief Unit (UEPS) with 30 men.

"The community has been outstanding, with water tankers, tractors, and their willingness to help fight the flames," praised the mayor of Sabugal.

Fire in the Douro Internacional region continues unabated in three municipalities

The rural fire that broke out on Friday afternoon in the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta, in the Douro Internacional region, continues today to give firefighters no respite due to three areas where the flames are difficult to fight.

These three “worrying” points are near the village of Mós, in the municipality of Torre de Moncorvo, in Lagoaça, on the cliffs of the Douro International Natural Park (PNDI); in the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta; and in the area of the slopes of the Sabor River, in Mogadouro, in the district of Bragança.

Speaking to Lusa news agency, the sub-regional commander of the Terras de Trás-os-Montes Civil Protection, João Noel Afonso, said that during the early hours of the morning it was possible to neutralize the three fronts of the fire, but these points remained active.

"It is not possible to deploy combat assets in these locations due to the difficult access, and we cannot rely on air assets due to the poor visibility in this region," he explained.

According to the commander, although much of the fire has stabilized, these three outbreaks are not giving any respite.

João Afonso does not expect any improvements in visibility for aerial operations this afternoon.

Portugal burning since July

Mainland Portugal has been affected by multiple rural fires since July, particularly in the North and Central regions, in a context of high temperatures that led to the declaration of a state of alert, in effect until Sunday.

The fires caused one death and several injuries, most of them not serious, and totally or partially destroyed first and second homes, as well as agricultural and livestock farms and forest areas.

Portugal has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, under which two Fire Boss aircraft are expected to arrive on Monday to reinforce firefighting efforts.

According to provisional official data, as of August 16, 139,000 hectares had burned in the country, 17 times more than in the same period in 2024. Almost half of this area was consumed in just two days this week.

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