Portugal: forest fire in a natural park in the center of the country declared "under control"

Europe 1 with AFP 12:03 p.m., August 13, 2022

The forest fire in the Serra da Estrela natural park in central Portugal, which has already caused more than 17,000 hectares to go up in smoke, was declared "under control" overnight from Friday to Saturday, said civil protection which however, remains strongly mobilized.

The fire, which has been raging for a week, has been declared "under control", Civil Protection Commander Miguel Cruz told TSF radio.

"The night was quiet but we still have a lot of work to do" to avoid new fires starting, he said, adding that the wind expected on Saturday "was the main concern" of the firefighters.

79,000 hectares destroyed since the beginning of the year in the country

This forest fire is already the most important of this summer in Portugal, devastating the world geo-park recognized by Unesco in the region of the Serra da Estrela mountain, which culminates at around 2,000 meters.

The flames have already set more than 17,000 hectares of vegetation in this protected natural park up in smoke, according to the latest still provisional estimate from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

"It's an environmental tragedy," said Interior Minister José Luis Carneiro on Friday evening.

>> Fires: how will burned forests be reforested?

As the Civil Protection Command comes under fire for its handling of operations, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Friday he wanted to know "what should have been done to prevent the fire from taking hold. this magnitude".

Portugal, which is experiencing an exceptional drought this year, also experienced the hottest month of July in almost a century.

Since the start of the year, some 79,000 hectares have already gone up in smoke, the most serious toll since the deadly fires of 2017 which killed around 100 people, according to the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests. .