Some good news is the strong wind warning has been cancelled, although there is still wind, which is fanning the fires.
People travelling, you shouldn’t see to many problems for the next two days, but Sunday, is still looking a little windy, but fingers crossed this may change as we get into the weekend.
The Civil Protection multi-purpose helicopter is already on its way to fight the fire which, as can be seen in the case of Câmara de Lobos, is in a forested area but within sight of houses. It broke out in Serra de Água, then rose to the high areas of Ribeira Brava, crossing vast areas of forest up to the central massif, having reached Jardim da Serra yesterday, threatening to spread to areas of Laurissilva forest, although this is not, for now, a danger.
With the helicopter coming into action, despite some strong winds, as these areas are inaccessible to land vehicles, Civil Protection hopes to be able to establish a perimeter and stop the spread of the flames. “The fire that has been burning in the municipality of Ribeira Brava since Wednesday is still active, having spread to the parish of Jardim da Serra, in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos”, the latest situation report states.
“The fire remains active in the municipality of Ribeira Brava (Trompica and Lugar da Serra) and is progressing at a low intensity. Six fire-fighting vehicles are strategically positioned in the theatre of operations, with 18 firefighters assigned to the Mixed Firefighters of Ribeira Brava and Ponta do Sol and the Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters”, it says.
“In the Jardim da Serra theater of operations, there are 2 active fronts, one facing south, towards a residential area, still with a large distance from residences (see photo) and another facing north, with progression towards Vereda da Encumeada. In this scenario, 3 fire-fighting vehicles are positioned with 10 operatives from the Câmara de Lobos Volunteer Firefighters”, he explains.
According to Civil Protection, “the Relief Operations Commander in charge of this operation requested the activation of air resources to possibly combat the flames, prioritizing the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, which may represent the greatest danger at the moment, with the Heliborne Brigade having been activated with the assignment of this mission, which may be conditioned by the adverse weather conditions felt in that location, namely the occurrence of strong winds”, it adds.
And it ends by reporting that “the fight against this fire has been particularly difficult due to the fact that it is breaking out and progressing to areas that are very difficult for pedestrian operational resources to access, which despite the adversities have tried to contain the flames”, and that “there are also elements of the IFCN and the PSP on the ground”.
The SRPC, IP-RAM “thanks, once again, the exceptional work of all the teams that are fighting this fire, alerting the entire population to avoid traveling to the areas where the fire broke out, in order to keep open fighting channels for the operators who are fighting it and, at the same time, avoid risks considered unnecessary to those who travel to those places”, they warn.