Fire in Silves cuts IC1 and A2. Inhabitants evacuated as a precaution | forest fires

More than 400 operatives supported by eight aircraft fight a fire in a bush area in the parish of São Marcos da Serra, in the municipality of Silves, in the Algarve. The difficulty that the firefighters are having in the fight has already led to the removal of inhabitants from several villages in the area as a precaution and the cutting of the Complementary Itinerary 1 and the A2 motorway.

The fire, which broke out at around 1 pm, is evolving on two fronts, near the village of Fica Bem, “in an area of ​​bush and with many medium voltage power lines, which makes it difficult for air resources to intervene”, he told the newspaper. Lusa a source from the District Command of Relief Operations (CDOS) of Faro.

According to the source, “in view of the progression of the flames”, Civil Protection asked the GNR to remove the inhabitants of several villages, namely Monte das Zorras, Alcarias, Novas, Corte Peral, Chaminé, Boião and Casas Velhas, in the area of San Marcos da Serra.

“In addition to the relief of the terrain, the firefighters also struggle with the lack of access, the wind and the vegetation in stress. [hídrico] due to the drought that has devastated the region”, he pointed out.

The A2 motorway has already been closed to traffic as a precaution, a source from the District Relief Operations Command (CDOS) of Faro confirmed to the PUBLIC, being closed in both directions, between Ourique (Beja) and São Bartolomeu de Messines (Faro).

The Complementary Itinerary (IC) 1 is also cut between the same locations. A source from the GNR’s Faro Territorial Command told Lusa that drivers traveling in the North/South direction “can take the detour on IP2 towards Castro Verde, then follow Estrada Nacional 2 towards the Algarve”.

According to the data provided in the site of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, at 19:39, 419 operatives were involved in fighting the flames, most of which were firefighters from various corporations in the Algarve and Alentejo, in addition to teams of forest clearers, from the GNR, with the support of 144 vehicles and eight aircraft.

According to the latest update made by the Civil Protection, released at 19:00 on its site, this fire is considered one of the “important occurrences” of the day. ​The other two are in Vila Real and Coimbra.

The district of Faro is today on red alert for fire risk due to wind and high temperatures.