Arson suspected as six fires ignite in northern Portugal
Overnight from Wednesday to Thursday in the municipality of Arcos de Valdevez in northern Portugal, six large forest fires erupted. Civil defence services suspect that arsonists are behind these incidents.
During the same night, six significant forest fires broke out in Arcos de Valdevez. Civil defence services suspect that arsonists may be responsible for these unexpected blazes. The fire chief of Arcos de Valdevez, Filipe Guimaraes, reported that nearly all fires ignited simultaneously at night.
The services indicate that the alleged arsonists acted with premeditation and were aware of the strong wind gusts approaching the region, which intensified the fire's strength and hindered the firefighting efforts.
This is pure terrorism. In my opinion, the fires were caused by individuals — said a fire department representative in an interview with Lisbon TV station SIC.
Evacuation of villages
Local services are considering evacuating several villages that the fire approached on Thursday morning. In the past five days, there have been 18 fires in the municipality of Arcos de Valdevez.
The frequent occurrence of fires, given the currently low air temperatures in our region, indicates high arsonist activity. This is also evidenced by the fact that forest fires always occur after dusk — added Guimaraes.
