Now comes period for political fall-out; calls for inquiry into what went wrong
After almost two nerve-wracking weeks, the wildfire that took hold of Madeira on August 14, refusing to let go, has finally been “completely dominated”.
“I wouldn’t want to use the word extinguished (see update below), at this stage, because the fire was very large and there may still be some hot spots that could cause flare-ups that will probably be put out relatively easily”, Civil protection chief António Nunes told Lusa this morning.
According to Nunes, the fire “is completely under control”. Any hot spots that do flare up will be helped by the fact that the vegetation around them has already been burnt black.
Whatever happens from now on, “doesn’t require any special care”, he said, adding that there is “no-one specially assigned to this” eventuality.
Rural Firefighting Teams (ECIR) are still on the ground and, in addition to their normal activity, “they are going to take extra care with areas that have (already) burnt down”.
Madeira will fall back, in other words, on “resources that were already there before the fire started and which will continue (in place) until November 30/ part of rural firefighting teams that are on the ground as normal every year”, said Nunes.
As for the teams which have travelled from the mainland and the Azores, they will all be returning to their origins today. Those from the mainland will be returning on Air Force flights scheduled for late this afternoon and Tuesday, while Azoreans will be travelling on civilian flights, he said.
“We’re very grateful for their service, for the help they have given us. They are now ready to return home”.
Figures from the European Forest Fire Information System show that more than 5,045 hectares have been burnt – but this kind of data doesn’t explain the heavy toll suffered by Madeira’s unique natural heritage; nor are there any ‘simulations’ on how things might have been had authorities requested assistance earlier.
This is key to the looming political fall-out: regional governor Miguel Albuquerque is already ‘fragilised’ in terms of leadership, and the calls for him to go have only amplified as a result of his performance during this wildfire.
Left wingers, particularly Bloco de Esquerda, lay blame over the time this fire was able to wreak its damage firmly on the shoulders of the regional government; the League of Firefighters has also called for the creation of a technical commission “because it believes there are explanations to give”, writes SIC Notícias – referring to the first few days when aerial firefighting over 750 sq kms was left to “just one helicopter”, with the regional government insisting that it saw “no necessity for any more”.
After the tragic first week of hellfire, the government activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, which ensured two Spanish Canadair water-bombers were dispatched to the island, and quickly helped stop the advance of raging flames.
UPDATE: As this text went up online, Madeira’s Civil Protection Service has said the fire is completely extinguished!
Source material: LUSA/ SIC Notícias
