26 years ago, Madeira burned for the sixth consecutive day

The region experienced true hell with the fires.

On March 12, 1998, DIÁRIO published a report made aboard the ‘HeliAtlantis’ helicopter along the south coast of Madeira, which found “an authentic hell” caused by the fires that raged for the sixth consecutive day in hundreds of hectares.

In three pages, journalists Emanuel Silva, José Riberio and Óscar Branco reported the horror experienced in burning Madeira.

“A lot of smoke, areas completely devastated by the flames and authentic black spots on the landscape”, can be read in the article, where it is explained that the hot weather associated with the inconstant wind blowing in different directions made it difficult to combat the uncontrolled flames. With the title “There is a lack of aerial means to fight fires”, the piece gave an account of the calls for the use of ‘heli’ to fight fires.

On the following page, the impact of the catastrophe was addressed: “Firefighters can no longer handle the pace of the series of forest fires. There are houses threatened by the flames, and a tent, where six people lived, next to Largo do Terreiro da Luta, was completely destroyed. consumed by fire. Tears and desolation, for those who saw their precarious assets reduced to zero”.

From Diário Notícias