(UPDATING TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF CLOSURE OF QUINTA DA REGALEIRA.)
Lisbon, Sept. 16, 2024 (Lusa) - The forests of the Serra de Sintra hills, near Lisbon, were on Monday closed to visitors due to a weather alert relating to heightened danger of wildfires, according to the local authority.
An alert for the whole of mainland was issued at midday on Sunday, to remain in place until midnight on Tuesday. Forested areas in the Serra de Sintra were closed at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
As a result of the adverse weather conditions and the risk of forest fires, and in order to guarantee the safeguarding of the natural and cultural heritage and the safety of people and goods, not only are the forested areas of the Serra de Sintra to remain closed, but also the monuments located within these areas.
As a result, until midnight on Tuesday, the Serra de Sintra forested areas will be closed to people or vehicles accessing, travelling through and staying inside them, as well as on forest paths, country lanes and other roads that cross them.
Exceptions to this ban are vehicles belonging to residents and companies based in the area, rescue vehicles, emergency vehicles and municipal civil defence vehicles.
During the alert, the monuments in Sintra that are located within the prohibited area, and therefore closed, are: Pena National Park and Palace, Moorish Castle, Peninha Shrine, Capuchos Convent, Chalet of the Countess D'Edla, and Monserrate Park and Palace - as well as the Quinta da Regaleira, which in the initial announcement was said to be remaining open.
The Sintra National Palace (both in the town of Sintra) and the Queluz National Palace (in Queluz) will remain open to the public during this period, without any change to their usual operations.
The Serra de Sintra is part of a "classified protection region sensitive to the risk of forest fires, characterised by a high number of visitors," Sintra town council explained in a statement. "It is therefore essential to safeguard its protection, maintenance and conservation, which are considered public interest objectives at global, national and municipal level."
The municipality also states that it is not permitted to carry out work in rural areas and around built-up areas using brushcutters and woodchippers, any equipment with an exhaust without a flame arrester, cutting equipment such as chainsaws or angle grinders, or the operation of mechanical methods which, in their action with mineral or artificial elements, may generate sparks or heat.
This decision stems from the raising of the special alert status of the Integrated System of Protection and Relief Operations (SIOPS) and the need to adopt preventive and special reaction measures in the face of the 'high', 'very high' and 'maximum' wildfire risk forecast by the Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) in a large part of mainland Portugal.
In addition to controlling access to the forested areas, gates within the perimeter have also been activated to prevent access, the council said.
At the same time, all access routes remain closed and passage in these sites is barred to people and vehicles, except emergency vehicles, municipal civil defence vehicles and those of others that form part of this system, it explains.
The council stresses that the numbers of civil defence, national guard and police officers on the ground have been stepped up.
FC/ARO // ARO.
Lusa/Fim
