“In the case of Câmara de Lobos, we have the situation under control, the fire is practically extinguished and under surveillance, as it could reignite at any time, but we have already demobilised some equipment so that it can eventually be reassigned to other needs”, said Leonel Silva.

“I will also try to understand how the fire is in the neighbouring municipality of Ribeira Brava because there was an active area that bordered an area of ​​Câmara de Lobos”, he added.

The fire broke out on Wednesday in the municipality of Ribeira Brava and the flames later reached Câmara de Lobos. At the end of Sunday afternoon, in a situation update, the Regional Government indicated that one of the three active fronts was reaching the Paul da Serra area, without specifying the municipality.

This morning, the mayor of Calheta, Carlos Teles, indicated that the affected area in Paul da Serra belongs to the municipality of Ponta do Sol and not to his municipality, which was not affected by the flames.

According to the mayor of Câmara de Lobos, it was possible to extinguish the two fronts in his territory that were burning near the parishes of Curral das Freiras and Fajã de Galinhas and that had forced the evacuation of residents from both locations.

“The people who were evacuated from Curral das Freiras returned yesterday [Sunday] at the end of the day. During the aftermath we carried out in the affected area, we realised that people could return, as safety conditions had been restored”, he said.

Regarding the residents evacuated from Fajã das Galinhas, Leonel Silva said that an assessment would have to be made on the ground.

“In the case of Fajã das Galinhas, as we had an active front yesterday [Sunday] night, we decided to keep people out of their homes, in the Community Centre of the town hall. Today I will go to the site with members of the Civil Engineering and Municipal Civil Protection Laboratory to carry out an assessment, because, as is known, it is an area with a rocky slope and is somewhat unstable. Whenever it rains, there are landslides. Fires cause instability in the rocky slopes”, he said.

The return of people will be determined throughout the day, as, in addition to attesting to safety conditions, it is necessary to restore electricity to the area.

“In the morning, it is almost certain that people will not return to Fajã das Galinhas”, he said.

Regarding the fire situation in other areas of Madeira Island, Leonel Silva said at around 8:00 am that he was still trying to understand what was happening.

Since August 14, more than 500 professionals, including 400 firefighters and 120 forest police officers, have been deployed on a rotating basis to fight the fire that broke out in Serra de Água and spread to other municipalities, according to the archipelago's Civil Protection.

At least 160 people were evacuated from their homes due to the fire and were placed in public facilities.

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