Castro Marim reinforces forest surveillance during the summer

The municipality of Castro Marim has activated, through its Municipal Civil Protection Service, the Municipal Forestry Intervention Team (EMIF), which will ensure daily surveillance and first intervention against rural fires between June and September, which may be extended depending on weather conditions.

The team is made up of six operators (five men and one woman), a first intervention vehicle and will travel more than 16,000 kilometers (km) in 122 days of surveillance, covering the entire territory of the municipality of Castro Marim, from the interior to the coastal area.

This device, coordinated by the Nature and Environment Protection Service (SEPNA)/National Republican Guard (GNR) within the scope of the Special Device for Combating Rural Fires (DECIR), is part of the national effort to prevent forest fires and has the support of several entities, including teams of Forest Firefighters, the Vila Real de Santo António and Castro Marim Fire Department, SEPNA, nature wardens from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests and hunting associations.

Castro Marim City Council also warns of the increased risk at this time of year due to the large amount of accumulated pasture, the result of heavy spring rains.

“Therefore, the entire population is urged to adopt responsible behavior and take extra care when using fire during this summer,” says the local authority.