Over the last week, forest fires in Madeira, Portugal, have charred over 5,000 hectares, or 9% of the island’s total area. The fire, which started on August 14, is still uncontrolled and causing widespread anxiety in the southern coastal areas of Camara de Lobos and Ponta do Sol, as well as the high Pico Ruivo region.

According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System, the forest fires in Madeira have already affected more than 5,000 hectares of the island.

The Portuguese National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) has been criticized by unions and opposition parties for its handling of the situation. In response, the agency has dispatched a 60-member special team to help with firefighting efforts.

According to Portuguese media, more than 400 firemen, 120 forest police officers, 200 civil protection people, 40 trucks, and one aircraft are now fighting the fire.

According to Miguel Albuquerque, head of Madeira’s regional government, the forest fires in Madeira are raging in remote locations outside residential zones.  Albuquerque stated that the intervention so far has been appropriate.

According to local authorities, the flame had two active fronts, and at midday, it rekindled in the central Curral das Freiras neighbourhood. High temperatures and high winds impede efforts even though no injuries or fatalities have been reported, and the flames do not endanger any homes. Most guests to the famous tourist island have left owing to the burning fire.

For days, the entire south coast of Madeira, a Portuguese autonomous province with over 250,000 inhabitants and a renowned tourist destination, has been on high alert for high temperatures and the potential for wildfires.

The forest fires in Madeira spread quickly in the island’s forested mountains due to the heat and strong winds. In the days following the fire, local reports suggested wind gusts of up to 70 kilometres (43 miles) per hour with temperatures hovering above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). After August 17, the fire fronts spread west and north of Serra de Água. More than 160 people were evacuated from their houses on August 18, according to local authorities, as firefighters attempted to put out the fires in difficult-to-access steep terrain.

The European Forest Fire Information System, which relies on data from NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites’ MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensors, indicated that the majority of the 5,000 hectares burned were woodland, shrubland, and broadleaf forest. Rising global temperatures caused by climate change have resulted in more frequent wildfires over Southern and Eastern Europe, North America, and Asia.

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