The European Commission announced this Friday that it is monitoring, through satellite mapsthe fire that broke out in the municipality of Covilhã and spread to Manteigas, Gouveia, Guarda and Celorico da Beira, when Portugal was under “extreme danger“.
“Our rapid mapping team has delivered its first delineation product [mapa] by the fire in Covilhã, Portugal”, reports the Earth Observation Program of the European Union (Copernicus), of the European Commission, in a publication on its official account on twitter social network.
Our #RapidMappingTeam delivered its 1st Delineation Product for Covilhã ???????? #Forest fire
As of August 11 at 11:50 UTC, 7,287 ha had been burned in the designated Area of Interest.
We are working in a wider area as the flames have moved north.
Updates???? pic.twitter.com/rTIplzqJrW
— Copernicus EMS (@CopernicusEMS) August 12, 2022
Questioned by the Lusa agency, an official source from the European Commission confirms the activation of Copernicus due to the fire in Serra da Estrela, explaining that this service is frequently activated to monitor fires throughout Europewhich can provide detailed maps of the affected areas to, for example, estimate the extent of the fire or the areas burned, depending on the type of mapping product.
So far, no request for help from Portugal regarding this fire has reached Brussels, according to the same community source.
At a time when more than 10,000 hectares have already been burned in this fire in the Serra da Estrela, this community executive service adds in the publication to be “working over a wider area as the flames move north“.
fires Nearly 10,000 hectares have already burned in Serra da Estrela
At issue is the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, which provides local authorities with current and accurate geospatial information through, in this case, maps based on satellite imagery.
The data provided to Lusa by the same source reveal that, this summer, the European Commission has already mobilized for Portugal, following a request made by the country on July 9. two Canadair fire-fighting aircraft from the fleet based in Spain (which operated on July 10 and 11 and made 61 water jumps), as well as two other Canadair aircraft positioned in Italy (which operated from July 13 to 17 and made 134 water jumps).
The fire that broke out on Saturday in the municipality of Covilhã and spread to Manteigas, Gouveia, Guarda and Celorico da Beira started at 11:15 a.m. and was fought by 1,607 elements of the relief and security forces, supported by 477 vehicles and 14 aerial means.
Source: Observadora
