West Algarve || Firefighters worked round the clock on Sunday and Monday (August 24 and 25) as they fought fires in several areas around Portimão and Lagos.
In Alvor, beachgoers watched in horror as a fire near the Prainha Clube development rapidly filled the area with dense smoke over the weekend.
Firefighters from Portimão, Lagoa and Lagos rushed to the scene, and within half an hour the blaze had been brought under control.
According to news reports, it had been dangerously close to the development’s hotel which is one of the reasons for three stations racing to the scene with 26 men.
Now, investigations are ongoing as – like many summer fires – this one seems to have been started on purpose.
The situation was not helped by “various piles of garden detritus and wood” on the land in question. Police are now said to be in contact with the owners of the land, to force them to clean it up.
The fire, on one of August’s busiest weekends, was one of 84 registered between the hours of midnight and 7pm on Sunday.
Emergencies continued coming in the next day as blazes started in Sargaçal, Odiáxere, Mexilhoeira Grande and Meia Praia – all on the outskirts of Lagos.
The Sargaçal fire was brought under control in a matter of hours, but locals experienced moments of panic as the flames threatened houses and farms.
The other local fires were also extinguished rapidly, as was another in Pedregosa (Loulé).
Throughout the rest of the country fires were reported in Portalegre, Guarda and Bragança, while in Pampilhosa da Serra in Coimbra residents were forced to evacuate their homes due to fanning flames. They have since all been allowed to return as the 444-strong firefighting team dominated the blaze.
No major damage to houses or injuries has been reported so far.
Meantime, data released by the Portuguese Safety Association shows that every year as many as 10,000 urban fires are reported, causing an average of 60 deaths per year.
