Fires in Portugal: Canadair planes from Morocco have arrived in the aid

Transcoso’s fire continues to worry the authorities on Tuesday afternoon, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees.

The previous night was also responsible for firefighters, who had to fight in the face of reactivation.

“It is an area inaccessible to vehicles, and we fought it with sappers and water equipment as far as possible, but unfortunately, during the night, we had a reactivation lower than this position, and the resources were no longer able, with sappers and water equipment, to cope with the intensity of the flames”, explains Carlos Silva, sub-regional commander of civil protection for the west.

In the municipality, the inhabitants joined the firefighters in the fight against fire.

“We were on the ground closest to the mountains when they called to say that the fire came here, then we all came here to see if we could fight it. Because if all these heaps of wood burns, the flames could extend to the lower part of the village, and it would be hell.” said a resident of one of the villages in the municipality of Transcoso.

Due to the threat of the flames in Transcoso, the village of Terrenho had to be evacuated.

This while two other important fires are still underway, in Vila Real and Tabuaço.

Morocco sends two Canadair to fight fires in Portugal

Morocco has sent two Canadair planes to Portugal to help fight fires, after the Portuguese government has activated the bilateral cooperation mechanism with the country.

The Portuguese government has indeed activated the bilateral cooperation mechanism with the country, because two of the Canadair planes available to Portugal have broken down.

In a press release, the Interior Ministry explains that “Following the breakdowns of the two Canadair planes that the Portuguese authorities rented to fight rural fires, the Interior Ministry immediately activated the bilateral cooperation mechanism – In terms of civil protection – established with the kingdom of Morocco to fill this gap “.

Twelve districts of continental Portugal are placed on orange alert due to heat, most of them until the end of Thursday, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the atmosphere.

Bragança, Evora, Guard, Beja, Branco and Portagle Castle are in orange alert, the second most serious, because of the “Persistence of very high maximum temperatures”.