A wildfire that started yesterday afternoon in an area of scrubland and euclayptus at 14.40 at Sítio dos Fitos, Silves, finally was put out by teams of local Bombeiros at 04.20 on Sunday morning.
The fire had spread rapidly across the countryside and at its height was tackled by over 200 firemen supported by 67 vehicles.
Two water-carrying aircraft and one helicopter helped in the operation.
The fire, at its peak during the evening hours, threw a wide pall of smoke across the Silves area from its two active fronts. The smoke cast a grim light as it blocked the sunset when seen from the east and despite some breeze, hung in the air with the smell of smoke identifiable up to 50 kilometres to the east.
Portugal’s Civil Protection Agency noted 13 fires across the country last night, two of which were still active, but overall the summer of 2014 has not been a bad one for fires despite current daytime temperatures of over 30 in most regions and no significant rainfall in the Algarve for several months leading to a constant state of alert.
