Exceptional mobilization in the center of Portugal to fight against a large fire that broke out in the night from Saturday to Sunday, July 21st. In the afternoon, a thousand men had joined the forces already there. In all, about 1,700 firefighters, 480 vehicles and 23 air assets were engaged in the battle. The criminal track is envisaged.
Sunday night, squalls and drought had complicated the fight against the fire raging in a mountainous region where the fire killed a hundred people in 2017.
The fires injured 20 people in the area (eight firefighters and 12 civilians), according to a report by the Interior Ministry. A badly burned civilian was evacuated by helicopter to Lisbon, 200 km to the south.
A suspect arrested
Two other large-scale forest fires that broke out Saturday were circumscribed in the night. One of them was given as completely mastered by late morning.
"The origin of the fires is being investigated. (...) Strange thing: how is it that five fires of significant size are starting in such close areas?", Asked the Portuguese Minister of State. Interior, Eduardo Cabrita, at a press conference.
An alleged arsonist was arrested Sunday in Castelo Branco, said the judicial police. The 55-year-old is believed to have set fire to the city, but likely did not play a role in the massive fires that began on Saturday afternoon.
With AFP