The government today declared the fires that continue to rage across Portugal, a ‘public calamity’ which provides for urgent public spending on a range of defence and firefighting operations alongside enhanced powers for Portugal Civil Defence service.
The ‘public calamity’ categorisation is provided for in the Civil Protection Act, and can be declared "in the face of, or due to the danger of a major accident or catastrophe, and includes a special regime for public contracting and the supply of goods and services."
The act also means the Civil Protection agency has unfettered access to and across private property, among other measures, which it now may exercise in the interior districts of the Central and North regions, some municipalities in the Beja district and in the eastern Algarve, all of which are now on maximum fire alert.
"Contracts under this scheme are exempt from prior approval by the Court of Auditors," and the act allows insurers to dodge payouts for loss and fire damage.
The legislation allows councils to take over land, for two years if it wishes to, and allows civil protection personnel free access to private property and to use private natural and energy resources.
The decree allows the enforced movement of people from affected areas, it can stop people accessing ‘at risk’ areas, allows the erection of fencing to deny access, and can ration water and food.
The Prime Minister's office said today that, as the fire risk is due to increase over the next few days as temperatures soar, "the Government, by order of the prime minister and minister of Internal Administration, will declare the state of public calamity with its preventive effects in certain areas of the national territory."
The Government is meeting council chiefs in the affected areas, "with a view to identifying other measures of a preventive nature that should be adopted."
A meeting has been set for Friday morning, involving the Prime Minister, the Minister of Internal Administration (Constança Urbano de Sousa,) the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Commander General of the GNR, the National Commander of Relief Operations and the President of the Firemen's League.
The head of the Armed Forces will not be at the meeting to make the tea, the military soon will be getting involved in helping to extinguish the fires as it is not certain how long the civil firefighting forces can last under current circumstances.
On Wednesday, the Civil Protection service put 18 districts of the country on orange alert until Saturday, due to increasing temperatures, low humidity and increasing wind speeds.
The latest update from the weather service indicates a rise in the maximum temperature to 40°C on Sunday.
The European Commission has offered €45 million to Portugal towards rebuilding costs when the fires finally are extinguished. The decision was taken by the European Commission, which approved a change of the Regional Cohesion Policy Programme, to allow "a reorientation of funds," following a request from Portugal.
Of the amount available, €25 million is "to restore the productive capacity of local companies, including equipment and machinery, that has been destroyed in the fires," according to the European Commission's statement.
In addition, €20 million "can be invested in public services and in the restoration of critical infrastructures such as repairs to roads, restoration of water distribution systems or replacement of municipal transport vehicles."
Two fires that started on June 17th, in Pedrógão Grande and in Góis, affected approximately 500 buildings, of which more than 200 were homes. The cost of the damage is €193 million and a further €303 million will be needed for local fire prevention measures and the re-launching of the economy.
"I would like to express our sincere solidarity with the Portuguese, at a time when forest fires continue to devastate the country, and I would like to express our deep gratitude to those who, in Portugal and in the rest of Europe, fight relentlessly against the flames," said the Commission’s Corina Cretu.
According to the Commission, Portugal continues to be supported by the European Civil Protection Mechanism in the fight against forest fires and since August 12th, following a second request from Portugal, the European Commission's Emergency Coordination Center has sent more than 160 firefighters, 27 vehicles and 4 firefighting aircraft to help.
As exhausted fire crews continue to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds, the temperature on Saturday and Sunday is expected to make it the hottest weekend this year, with maximum values ranging from 33°C to 40°C.
According to the weather service, there will be a break in temperatures on Monday, as the mass of hot and dry air amassed across the interior of the Iberian Peninsula on Saturday and Sunday, will be replaced by a cooler air mass.
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Arson remains high on the list of causes, thus today’s most bizarre news item - widely shared over social media - that forest fires are no longer to be considered “crimes of priority investigation”.
The reason, explains news channels, is that a law passed by the PSD-CDS-PP in 2015 has taken forest fires off the priority list, despite exhortations from the Attorney General not to do so.
According to RTP news, Attorney General Joana Marques Vidal saw forest fires, crimes against the environment and crimes against Nature as requiring priority, but the 2015 vote went the then majority’s way, with PS Socialist abstaining and their allies in the new government voting against.
The only good news in this development is that the 2015 law may come to be updated/ modified before it takes effect, on September 1 this year.
There are many 'murmerings' that fires are being set deliberately, as there is much financial gain to be had by private entities in the extinguishing of said fires. The "special regime for public contracting and the supply of goods and services" and the fact that "Contracts under this scheme are exempt from prior approval by the Court of Auditors" may backfire by making access to government funds even easier.
Heavy sentences MUST be handed to the few pyromaniacs that are caught.