A Super Puma helicopter, on loan from the French government has arrived in Portugal under the terms of the European Civil Protection mechanism to help bolster firefighting combat.
The aircraft capable of carrying (and discharging) 3,000-litres of water at a time arrives just as the population of Vale de Cerdeira, in the Covilhã parish of São Jorge de Beira have been advised to ‘confine themselves to a safe place’ / not venture out on the road and heed advice coming in from the authorities due to the worsening of fires that swept through the municipality as a result of the Arganil fire that began last Wednesday.
A Facebook post published today lunchtime by the Covilhã municipality highlights increasing danger for the villages of Peso, Vales do Rio, Dominguizo and Tortosendo.
Lusa says it has tried to get further information from Mayor Vítor Pereira, but this “hasn’t been possible”. Communications in these fires have been extremely complicated. And this is why the arrival of new ‘heavy artillery’ in terms of aerial combat is so important.
The Puma comes equipped with a team of five, and will be starting work tomorrow – with the plan to remain until Sunday.
At the same time, the Canadair planes here on loan from Morocco will be returning to their home base today. They arrived on August 11 after the three Portuguese Canadairs all developed technical faults.
As these changes take place in the ‘theatre of operations’, prime minister Luís Montenegro has called an ‘extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers’ to approve support measures for populations affected by the fires. It will be meeting in Viseu, a region that has suffered enormous damages this summer.
source : LUSA
