In statements to Lusa news agency, António Nunes indicated that at 1:00 pm there were “two theatres of operation”, one of which was in the parish of Curral das Freiras, in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, in the Fajã dos Cardos area.

“If the winds remain calm, in principle we will not have any problems with homes, because the wind will drive the fire in the opposite direction to where the houses are located” in that location, he stated. On the other hand, he added, “if the fire reaches the top of the mountain, it will be possible to intervene with air resources in that area”, if the helicopter is available at the time and the weather conditions allow for this.

“It is impossible to do anything in that area with foot or even mechanical resources”, he stressed. Pointing out this situation as the “most worrying of all” because it is an inaccessible area, the president of the regional civil protection insisted that in Fajã dos Cardos there is little chance of doing anything other than waiting. “Not even air resources can enter the valley, because this enclosed valley has such strong winds that we cannot operate there, and we also cannot go there to drop water”, he explained.

In the “Serra de Água theatre of operations”, in the municipality of Ribeira Brava, there were “three fronts” in the early afternoon, since “Encumeada [in the same municipality] is limited” and is not currently a cause for “concern”, said the president of the regional civil protection.

In a statement to Lusa in the morning, the mayor of Ribeira Brava, Ricardo Nascimento, had said that the Encumeada front had been extinguished.

In the municipality of Ponta do Sol, the fire is reaching the areas of Lombada, Canhas and Ribeira da Tábua, added António Nunes.

In these areas, he said, the fire is “progressing slowly”, and it is expected to be controlled “within a few hours”.

Still regarding the fires in Ponta do Sol, the official explained that “they are really very close together”, but considered that “calling it a front is an exaggeration”.

“We have 80 operatives on the ground, with 25 resources […], almost all of them, these mechanical resources and personnel, in the Ponta do Sol area, because it is the only place where we are able to do something with land resources”, he said.

The rural fire in Madeira broke out on Wednesday in the mountains of Ribeira Brava, spreading the following day to the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, and, over the weekend, to the municipality of Ponta do Sol.

During these seven days, the authorities advised nearly 200 people to leave their homes as a precaution and provided public shelter facilities, but many residents have already returned, with the exception of Fajã das Galinhas, in Câmara de Lobos, and Furna, in Ribeira Brava.

The fight against the flames has been hampered by the wind, which is now weaker, and by the high temperatures, but there are no reports of destruction of houses or essential infrastructure. A firefighter received hospital treatment for exhaustion, and there were no other injuries.

Projections from the European Forest Fire Information System, cited by the Regional Government, indicate that seven thousand hectares have been burned.

The Judicial Police are investigating the causes, but the president of the Madeiran executive, Miguel Albuquerque, says it was arson.