Vila Real wildfire spreading quickly, motorway closed

“I’m worried. The wind won’t let up … we’re going to have a very complicated night”, the mayor said.

A fire that started in Portugal’s Alvão mountain range, in Vila Real, “is spreading quickly” due to the very strong wind, cutting the A24 motorway.

“It is advancing quickly, the wind is not helping the firefighters and Civil Protection to contain it,” the mayor of Vila Real, Rui Santos, told Lusa on Sunday afternoon.

According to a police source, the A24 was cut to traffic between São Tomé do Castelo and Vila Pouca de Aguiar junctions due to the fire, while the National Road 2 (EN2), which was also cut due to this fire, has now reopened.

The fire alarm was raised at 07:00, after seeing “three different points of ignition”. It started in a bush area, but it is also being blown into a pine forest, and the strong wind leads to the rapid spread of the flames.

“I’m worried. The wind won’t let up … we’re going to have a very complicated night”, the mayor said.

According to Rui Santos, “the priority is positioning the firefighters near the villages to safeguard people and goods”.

There are several villages threatened by the fire, such as Samardã, Vilarinho da Samardã and Benagouro. It has jumped Estrada Nacional 2 (EN2) and the River Corgo to the slopes on the other bank.

In Vilarinho da Samardã, the fire was very close to houses and a fuel station.

According to fogos.pt, 447 firefighters and 129 vehicles are fighting the blaze.

Source: Lusa