“Most of them don’t want to anyway” – mayor
The devastating consequences of Madeira’s 11-day long wildfire (still not completely extinguished) are rapidly coming clear: Fajã das Galinhas, for example, is no longer ‘safe’ for its human inhabitants.
Mayor Leonel Silva told Lusa today: “We are of the understanding that the escarpment and the road access to Fajã das Galinhas, for a time that we have not been able to determine, does not offer the safety conditions for people to return to their homes”.
The decision has already been communicated to inhabitants, some of whom told television reporters when they were evacuated that they “never wanted to go back” because they felt conditions had become much too precarious.
The 120 residents will now be provisionally rehoused in municipal, public and regional facilities until the construction of permanent housing elsewhere is completed.
Mayor Silva says the municipality will soon begin building 30 houses in an investment of €7.5 million in the Castelejo area, near Fajã das Galinhas, a location that “does not pose any risks”.
This is not a new project. It was designed last year after Fajã das Galinhas was flagged as “being at high risk”, he explained: the fire has simply accelerated the process (taking high risk even higher). This is why most of the area’s residents do not want to go back.
For now, the only road access will be reopened so that authorities can remove animals that have remained behind. The general public will still be prohibited from using the road, because “safety conditions are not guaranteed”.
The archipelago’s regional governor Miguel Albuquerquer, stressed “the situation in Fajã das Galinhas is very dangerous. It’s not new, and I think we’re in a position to find a definitive solution for these families”.
The 120 residents were evacuated from their homes on August 17 due to flames that surrounded the area and made the only access road – stretching about 2 kms along an escarpment – impassable.
Madeira’s latest wildfire was declared ‘under control’ last night after 11 days of combat, but today a reignition is said to be threatening homes in Ponta do Sol. There is still a long way to go.
Source material: LUSA
