The mayor of Celorico da Beira said on Tuesday that he is faced with “some optimism” the measures that the Government is preparing for the municipalities of Serra da Estrela affected by the August fire.
“My perspective is one of certain optimism, it is a belief that the good intentions expressed will be fulfilled, but we need immediate, rapid responses, and others in a medium and long-term perspective,” Carlos Ascensão told the Lusa agency.
The mayor of Celorico da Beira participated, on Monday, in Lisbon, in a meeting with the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, with State Secretaries from various areas of government and with the Central Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDRC) , to present, in a global way, to the six mayors of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park (PNSE), the measures that are prepared to be implemented in the scope of the surveys carried out.
The mayor said that the meeting was a continuation of the previous ones and that “there was an expression of goodwill”by the government.
He said that at the meeting it was determined that there must be “organization” at the local level, because the Government “you are doing your job” and “show and express interest, with ideas already determined and defined”.
“The Council of Ministers will now approve a series of responses, also financial and not only and, [autarcas] We also have to do our job to mitigate what was a tragedy that happened to the Serra da Estrela”, he declared.
Carlos Ascensão said that he hopes that in the future they can be “lessons takenof the fire that this summer affected the PNSE and that measures be taken to prevent similar situations from happening again in the territory.
Also according to this mayor of the district of Guarda, the municipal survey found losses amounting to 130 thousand euros in the municipality of Celorico da Beira, which was affected by the flames in the area of the parish of Linhares da Beira.
Serra da Estrela was affected by a fire that broke out on August 6 in Garrocho, in the municipality of Covilhã (Castelo Branco district) and was dismissed on the 13th.
Calamity declared for Serra da Estrela for a year
The fire was reactivated on the 15th and was considered controlled again on the 17th of the same month, at night.
The flames spread to the district of Guarda, in the municipalities of Manteigas, Gouveia, Guarda and Celorico da Beira, and also reached the municipality of Belmonte, in the district of Castelo Branco.
On the 25th, the Government approved the declaration of a calamity situation for the PNSE, which has been affected by fires since July, as requested by the mayors of the affected territories.
The calamity situation has already been published in the Diário da República and will be in force for a period of one year, with the “objective of restoring normality in the respective geographical area.”
Source: Observadora
