A total of 56 firefighters from the Volunteer Firefighters of Câmara de Lobos, Funchal Firefighters, Madeira Volunteer Firefighters, Ribeira Brava and Ponta do Sol Mixed Firefighters, Santa Cruz Firefighters and Machico Municipal Firefighters are on the ground fighting the large fire that continues to burn in Ribeira Brava and in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, having reached the parish of Curral das Freiras this morning.

Also on site are members of the Regional Command of Relief Operations (CROA) and the Mobile Telecommunications and Emergency Unit of the SRPC. The helicopter has also started to carry out water discharges, since the fire is in areas of difficult access.

According to the Regional Civil Protection Service, the fire remains active on the Encumeada front, although outside residential areas, where a Rural Fire Fighting Team (ECIR), assigned to the Mixed Firefighters of Ribeira Brava and Ponta do Sol, maintains active surveillance. In the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, a fire remains branched between the towns of Jardim da Serra and Curral das Freiras, and in Jardim da Serra the flames are approaching a residential area, although there are no homes in danger yet.

In Curral das Freiras, the fire has already spread across the entire slope, putting the areas of Seara Velha and Terra Chã de Cima at risk, and, as DIÁRIO has already reported, the evolution of the fire in this parish has led to the evacuation of residents from their homes for safety and precaution, triggered by the Municipal Civil Protection Service of Câmara de Lobos.

“The Madeira Regional Civil Protection Service reiterates that fighting the fire has been particularly difficult due to the progression of the fire in areas of difficult land access. Despite adverse conditions, such as high temperatures, low humidity, strong winds and complex orography, the teams are in the theater of operations making every effort to control the flames and safeguard homes,” he says.