Fire ‘dominated’ thanks to rapid/ muscled response
Hundreds of firefighters are still on the ground in the Alcabideche area of the borough of Cascais this morning, after a major wildfire broke out yesterday afternoon, quickly attacked from all sides.
Roughly 700 firefighters converged on the scene, backed by almost 200 appliances and up to 14 firefighting planes and helicopters, most of which remained active until 9pm.
By 4am today the incident was classified as ‘dominated’ – but with strong winds characteristic of the area in full force, authorities are taking no chances.
Roads which were closed yesterday evening have since been reopened, albeit civil protection authorities are still appealing to people to keep away from the areas blighted by fire damage if they possibly can.
Television commentary last night described one woman who had reportedly “lost everything” (home/ animals/ allotment), while an animal sanctuary, a children’s holiday camp, and a number of residents were evacuated as a precaution.
Four civilians suffered injuries in the mayhem, nine firefighters were also treated for exhaustion and smoke inhalation.
Locals spent the whole night helping out with hoses and buckets of water to ensure further damage to homes and buildings was avoided.
