The fire that broke out 11 days ago in Madeira still has a “hot spot” in the Lombada area, in the municipality of Ponta do Sol, Civil Protection indicated today, adding that the fire should be put out soon.
“There is a hot spot that is a little active and we hope – be careful, I’m not saying it will happen – that within an hour, an hour and a half, we can put it out,” the president of the Regional Civil Protection Service, António Nunes, told Lusa news agency, in a contact made around 16:15.
“It is an active point, therefore, not everything is completely under control,” he reinforced.
António Nunes also said that the fire does not threaten homes.
“It is at a safe distance, there are no houses in danger,” he assured.
According to the president of Civil Protection, the fire is being fought only with foot vehicles, because it is occurring in an area under high-tension cables, a circumstance that prevents the use of aerial means.
“They [the team operating the helicopter] cannot go there and also because we consider that the ground resources that are there are sufficient to overcome that within the space of an hour”, said António Nunes.
Contacted by Lusa, the president of the Ponta do Sol Municipal Council, Célia Pessegueiro, also confirmed that the area in Lombada “is always burning”, although “sometimes without a visible flame” and explained that the fire is occurring on a slope at the top of which there are houses.
This morning, at a press conference to present the current status of the fire, the president of the Regional Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, indicated that the fire fronts were “substantially reduced” or were “non-existent”, but warned of the persistence of a “potential rekindling focus” in Ponta do Sol, in the west of the island.