Over 1,000 firefighters, including reinforcements from Spain, continue to battle Vouzela wildfire

The picture this morning as the country wakes up to yet another day of extremely high temperatures is that the blaze that began over 48-hours ago, in the early hours of the morning, in Vouzela, is still active on various fronts, causing many problems.

Two people have already been considered ‘serious injuries – one badly burnt, another who suffered a head injury (both were airlifted by helicopter to hospitals) – while others have suffered light injuries.

There were five main fires causing the greatest concerns late last night – the Vouzela and Setúbal blazes being considered the worst.

The Setúbal fire has since been brought under control, leaving Vouzela – now active in two districts (Viseu and Aveiro), and threatening the municipalities of Tondela, Oliveira dos Frades and Águeda – as the ‘monster’ focusing most resources, including reinforcements from Spain brought in as a result of yesterday’s actioning of the European Civil Protection Mechanism.

At 8am today there were a total of 28 wildfires burning in mainland Portugal, according to Civil Protection data collected by Expresso and updated continuously.

Leiria, Barcelos and Santa Maria da Feira are the municipalities with the highest number of incidents, particularly Leiria, which has four active fires involving 15 personnel and seven assets.

Nationwide, the North region has the largest number of active wildfires, with hundreds of personnel and assets deployed (the full list can be consulted, in real time, here).

According to data from meteorological institute IPMA, there are still 142 municipalities at maximum wildfire risk, 46 at very high risk, 83 at high risk, and seven at moderate risk. These figures are based on the Conjunctural and Meteorological Index (RCM), calculated daily by combining the Fire Weather Index (FWI), managed by IPMA, with the Rural Fire Hazard Index, developed by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).

As this text goes up online, the most serious wildfires are both in the north: Vouzela, and a blaze in Santa Maria da Feira.

Source material: Expresso/ Lusa

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.