LISBON, Aug 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Portuguese authorities sent reinforcements to the island of Madeira on Wednesday to fight a wildfire raging for a week that has touched the edge of a UNESCO listed forest.
The fire had burned 4,392 hectares of land up to Tuesday, the European Union’s Copernicus observatory said in an X social media post. It added that more than 95 hectares had burned in the previous 24 hours.
Regional civil protection chief Antonio Nunes told RTP public television that the flames had touched a part of the Laurissilva forest, the largest surviving laurel forest, that is on UNESCO’s world heritage list. He said the damage was not significant.
More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze on two main fronts in the island which is traditionally packed with summer tourists at this time, the civil protection service said in a statement.
Nunes said 45 extra firefighters and first aid specialists were expected from the Portuguese mainland Wednesday on top of 76 already sent since the wildfire started on Wednesday last week.
Fierce winds that have fuelled the flames have also disrupted operations at the island’s main airport at Funchal. But the airport management said the airport was working normally Wednesday.
The fire started in the Ribeira Brava district and spread to the nearby Camara de Lobos and Ponta do Sol districts in the southern part of the island. About 200 people were temporarily evacuated from their homes to avoid smoke inhalation.
Authorities said that no house had been destroyed, nor any injury reported, but some firefighters had symptoms of exhaustion.
Thousands of hectares of vegetation were lost in a wildfire last year and at least three people were killed in a 2016 wildfire near the main city of Funchal. — NNN-AGENCIES
