“This is terrorism, pure and simple”, says fire chief
A total of 48 forest fires broke out last night in various municipalities of the Alto Minho (Viana do Castelo district), as the rest of the country was being buffeted by high winds and heavy rain ushered in by Depression Martinho.
Thanks to the violent storm, the fires were relatively quickly brought under control.
The question is what could have caused them? Authorities seem divided between those who suspect the ‘vicious cycle’ of previous years: arson, and those that think it was an unholy combination of circumstance.
“The people who do this know what they are doing”, Alto Minho fire chief Filipe Guimarães told SIC. “This is terrorism, pure and simple”.
Guimarães certainly believes there was no other reason for so many fires to break out in the same district, given the temperatures the country has been having, and in current wintery conditions.
The areas in question were ‘full of combustible material’ (had not been ‘cleared of loose inflammable material’) and thus the apocalyptic scenario last night of raging flames and madcap winds.
By early this morning almost all the fires had been brought under control. There was just one still active in the parish of Sabadim, but it has since been extinguished.
No homes were affected, albeit several were at risk – and there were points when it was thought people would have to be evacuated.
But meteorologists don’t seem quite so sure of the ‘criminal hand’ theory.
According to climate study centre MeteoFreixo, it is precipitous to blame arson, “because in fact there were a number of weather conditions that were conducive to the spread of fires” – namely “at 11pm, the temperature was 18.3ºC, there was an average wind of 30 km/h from the south-east quadrant and only 44% humidity, which dried out the combustible material.
“It had also been dry for eight days” (it hadn’t rained since March 11 in the Alto Minho, unlike the weather that has affected other regions), writes MeteoFreixo’s Sérgio Basto.
Flames bear down on village in Peneda-Gerês national park
The most worrying fire and the one that mobilised the most resources occurred in Paradela, Soajo, a village in the heart of the Peneda-Gerês National Park, in the municipality of Arcos de Valdevez.
In this municipality, there were also fires in the parishes of Vilela, São Damião and Sá.
“The situation became much calmer after it started raining heavily,” a source from the Alto Minho Sub-Regional Command told Lusa.
In addition to the fires in Arcos de Valdevez, there were also fires in the municipalities of Paredes do Coura and Ponte da Barca.
According to forecasts, the next few hours will bring more rain to the Minho region (and most other areas as well). But from Monday onwards, “more spring like weather is expected”.
Surprisingly, today is not just the International Day of Happiness, it is also the first day of spring. ND
