Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 21^st August 2024

 

Good morning. We start and end with the Madeira fires which have been burning for eight days days. There has been widespread concern among the Madeira population and some firefighting experts that the Madeira government was slow to react when the fire broke out last Wednesday. Jorge Mendes, commander and specialist in Civil Protection, stated on Monday that:  “When we put off the problem, it leads us to scenarios like these.” He sees the current operational situation as the result of an “underestimation” of the first signs that this fire would reach dramatic proportions. It lead to the evacuation of several points in the Autonomous Region”.

He adds that “this fire had characteristics very similar to previous fires, the operational decision should have taken into account the historical assessment of Madeira, the temperature and the wind speed”. In this case, “it is not normal to have temperatures above 30 degrees and gusts of 65 km/h”. “All of this led us to believe that if there were a fire outbreak, we would have a lot of difficulties”.

The fire chief’s opinion is echoed by several other civil protection experts who note how there should have been a “more muscular” response in the first hours when the flames began to be contained in the high areas of Ribeira Brava, on Wednesday. However, the topography in Madeira is very steep, which makes accessibility very difficult if not impossible except by air, when wind conditions allow.

On the mainland we have become used to this “muscular approach”, where the response to fires is very quick with additional resources being deployed, to try and avoid fires increasing in intensity and spreading to a point when situation becomes out of control as is happening now in Madeiria. For the first day in the Madeira fire one helicopter (the only one available) with less than 20 operatives were deployed. The delay in the Madeira government accepting assistance offered by the mainland, allowed the fire to develop further.

The Minister of Internal Administration said yesterday the Government “will evaluate” the request for permanent reinforcement of aerial resources to fight fires in Madeira, but also highlighted that it is still premature to make this analysis. In SCP’s view the current situation of just one helicopter is totally inadequate! What would happened if it was down for maintenance or otherwise inoperable?

President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, defended, this Wednesday, the need to “lower the alarmist rhetoric” because the “situation is safe” and the authorities are “doing what they have to do” in fighting the fire that has been ravaging the region for about a week. No homes or infrastructures were destroyed, considering that, in the fight against the fire, “the results are positive”.

However the National Civil Protection Union today demanded accountability and calls for the resignation of the president of the Regional Civil Protection Service, António Nunes, and the regional secretary for Civil Protection, Pedro Ramos.

There is certainly a need for a review (as I am sure there will be), to address the effects of climate change with higher temperatures, more intense fires, to focus on preparedness and to enable a more muscular approach when fires ignite – as they will in the future.

Unfortunately there are many tourists who continue to disregard the signs that determine the closure of hiking trails due to the fires that are ravaging in Madeira. As previously reported, the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN) advises against traveling in mountain areas.

A reminder if you are visiting Madeira to download the Civil Protection recommend that you download their ProCiv Madeira (Emergency) App, especially with the RURAL FIRE situation at present. The Regional Civil Protection Service, IP-RAM, advises the entire population and visitors to download our application, considering it an added value in providing assistance.

When you call 112 via the app, the control centre will receive your last known position as well as a personalized profile for you. You will also be notified with recommendations for weather warnings and real-time information such as fires and road closures. More details here: https://www.procivmadeira.pt/pt/galeria-de-imagens-3.html?

 

News

Madeira fire analysis

Forest fire expert Domingos Xavier Viegas advocated the use of more aerial resources to combat fires like the one raging in Madeira, as well as more land resources to consolidate extinction.

Air combat must be carried out with at least pairs of planes, if possible more, so that there is a more frequent sequence of discharges and that allow the fire to be attacked and extinguished”, stressed, in statements to the Lusa news agency, the director of the Forest Fire Studies Laboratory.

When asked about the fire in Madeira , the expert stressed that a single combat air vehicle “loses effectiveness” in a fire that is difficult to access for ground vehicles and has several fronts, because while it goes to refuel after attacking one area of ​​the fire, the fire “continues to progress”.

Xavier Viegas also defended more land resources to “consolidate the extinction” of fronts that are being fought through the air.

If we don’t go there and complete the extinguishing process, which is carried out by air discharge with ground combat (…) that fire will quickly reignite because, even the chemical product that was released, after some time may lose its extinguishing capacity”, he stressed.

For the expert, “fighting has to be done by anticipating what the fire will do and trying to find containment zones that can help contain the fire”, pointing out that a fire that has been burning for “so many days certainly did not require many human resources, for the perimeter it has, of several kilometers”.

Another point of concern identified by the forest fire specialist is the “secondary outbreaks”, highlighting that, sometimes, the fire “may be descending a slope and spreading towards the opposite valley, with this outbreak rising with much greater intensity and, sometimes, upon reaching the top of the slope, it may even spread towards the next valley”.

Xavier Viegas also pointed out the climate change recorded in Madeira , with lower humidity and more periods of high temperatures, highlighting the importance of “cleaning vegetation, removing the most flammable vegetation and when this is not enough, complementing it with protective measures”.

The director of the Forest Fire Studies Laboratory also said that it is important to learn lessons from this “already large-scale fire”, to understand “to what extent everything possible is being done to prevent the fire from spreading, so that there are areas where it can be contained”.

Data from the European Forest Fire Information System, indicated by the president of the Regional Civil Protection Service, António Nunes, indicate that 4,392 hectares of area had been burned by 12:00 on Tuesday.