Ministers of Economy and Agriculture visit burned areas
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) extended the red warning, the highest, in the districts of Vila Real and Bragança until Monday due to the heat.
According to the IPMA, these two districts will be under red alert between 9:00 am on Saturday and 00:00 am on Monday.
The orange warning, the second most serious, has been extended until Monday in the districts of Viseu, Guarda and Castelo Branco (in force), and from Sunday, Portalegre, Évora and Beja will join these districts, due to the persistence of very high maximum temperatures.
The yellow warning, the least serious on a scale of three, was also extended until Monday on the North and Central coast and in the districts of Santarém, Lisbon, Setúbal and Faro, which means that from Sunday there is no district in the country without warnings because of the heat.
The Government renewed the alert status in the country on Thursday until Wednesday, August 13, due to the risk of forest fires.
Around 90 municipalities in the interior north and center of the country are today at maximum risk of fire, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), a day after the alert situation was renewed.
All municipalities in the districts of Bragança and Guarda, and most of those in Vila Real, Viseu and Castelo Branco, are at maximum risk of fire.
Also at maximum risk are dozens of municipalities in the districts of Braga, Porto, Santarém and Portalegre.
Around 60 municipalities in the districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto, Vila Real, Viseu, Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Santarém, Castelo Branco and Faro are at very high risk.
The fire in Aude, in the south of the country, has already consumed 17,000 hectares since Tuesday and is still not under control, despite having lost intensity. There are three missing and two critically injured.
The Ministers of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Castro Almeida, and Agriculture and the Sea, José Manuel Fernandes, are today visiting the burnt areas in Ponte da Barca (Viana do Castelo) and Terras de Bouro (Braga), and meeting with the mayors of two of the municipalities most affected by the fires in recent weeks.
The fire in Ponte da Barca started on July 26 and was only brought under control more than a week later — on August 3 — and covered a total area of 7,550 hectares, having spread to the neighboring municipality of Terras de Bouro.
Of the more than seven thousand hectares burned, 5,786 hectares are part of the Peneda-Gerês National Park, which occupies an area of 69,596 hectares and covers the districts of Braga (municipality of Terras de Bouro), Viana do Castelo (municipalities of Melgaço, Arcos de Valdevez and Ponte da Barca) and Vila Real (municipality of Montalegre).
Good morning,
We're once again beginning our coverage of the wildfires in Portugal. This Friday, two ministers will visit Ponte da Barca and Terras de Bouro, two of the areas most affected by the fires.
To watch or rewatch yesterday's recap, you can access this liveblog . Stay tuned.
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