For several days, the Serra da Estrela natural park has been decimated by flames.

This Thursday, more than 1,500 firefighters were still mobilized to put out this forest fire, in this mountainous region of central Portugal.

The town of Manteigas woke up to the sound of a helicopter water bomber replenishing from a small reservoir on the Zêzere River, only to disappear in smoke over the surrounding hills.

The fire, which broke out on Saturday in the town of Covilha, still mobilized around ten air assets on Thursday morning in order "to continue the consolidation work" and overcome "the still active fronts", explained the commander of the civil protection Miguel Cruz on the public television channel RTP.

On Wednesday, a campsite and a river beach in the region had to be evacuated as a preventive measure.

More than 10,000 hectares reduced to ashes

This forest fire, with a perimeter estimated Wednesday at 25 kilometers, has already consumed some 10,000 hectares, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

"We are talking about a large perimeter" but we "will do everything to control this fire as quickly as possible", said Commander Cruz.

The Serra da Estrela Natural Park extends over more than 100,000 hectares on the highest mountain in mainland Portugal, which culminates at some 2,000 meters above sea level.

This site was classified as a world geo-park by Unesco in 2020 because of its exceptional geological heritage.

Lack of means

The mayors of several municipalities affected by these fires, which have already caused several minor injuries among firefighters, have in particular criticized the poor management of resources on the ground.

"There are supposedly a lot of means" but "we don't see them", lamented Sergio Costa, mayor of Guarda (north) in statements to RTP.

Flavio Massano, mayor of Manteigas, for his part criticized the mismanagement of air resources at the beginning of the week, believing that the relief had above all sought to protect the passage areas of the cycling tour of Portugal, to the detriment of the forest.

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