The situation update at 9 am this morning from the Regional Civil Protection Service shows that the fire remains active, with two outbreaks in the high areas of Ponta do Sol (Lombada) and the other in the central mountain range (between the high areas of Curral das Freiras and Pico Ruivo).
There are more than 30 vehicles and more than 100 operatives on the ground, including members of the Special Civil Protection Force and firefighters from the Azores.
The Service states that in Curral das Freiras, the fire that was active until yesterday, August 20, has been declared extinguished. Teams remain on the ground to carry out active surveillance and prevent any rekindling.
In Ponta do Sol, professionals remain on the ground to contain the spread of the flames and prevent the fire from approaching homes.
The authorities further states that the “most worrying” focus is now in the central mountain range between the high areas of Curral das Freiras and Pico Ruivo, where the fire “is consuming an increasingly larger area in areas that are difficult to access, which makes fighting the fire difficult”.
In the coming hours, a team of the Special Civil Protection Force and the air force will concentrate on this area to stop the fire from spreading, it said. In addition to the firefighting forces, elements of the Regional Command for Relief Operations (CROS), the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN), the GNR and the PSP continue to provide ongoing support to the operations.
In view of the developments, the Regional Civil Protection Service has requested ANEPC to reinforce the Special Civil Protection Force. The logistics associated with this deployment are already being taken care of and these men should arrive in Madeira at the end of today.
Regarding the firefighters who received clinical assistance yesterday, August 20th at the Nélio Mendoça Hospital, we inform that they have already been discharged.
The SRPC, IP-RAM guarantees that it continues to closely monitor the evolution of the fires and reiterates its appeal to the population to avoid traveling to the affected areas, for their own safety and to ensure a more effective and safer fire-fighting operation for the teams on the ground.