Castelo de Vide, Portugal, Aug. 21, 2025 (Lusa) - More than 40 tonnes of animal fodder will be made available to farmers in Castelo de Vide, in the district of Portalegre, affected by last week's fire in that municipality, the local mayor said on Thursday.
In a note sent to the Lusa news agency, the mayor of Castelo de Vide, António Pita, explained that the municipality has purchased 25 tonnes of oat hay, with the Portalegre District Farmers' Association (AADP) contributing, initially, eight tonnes of straw and an equal amount of hay.
This Friday, the aid will begin to be distributed, and there are "eight farmers registered to receive it in this first phase", the note reads.
Contacted by Lusa, the president of the AADP, Fermelinda Carvalho, explained that the organisation is still prepared to help, through a campaign among its member farmers to raise food, as soon as the municipality indicates the needs detected on the ground.
Although Castelo de Vide's municipal services are still collecting data on the damage caused by the fire, priority situations have been identified. They are being attended to, according to the municipality.
The alert for the fire was given on the 14th of this month, at 2:01 pm. It broke out in the municipality of Portalegre and continued to the neighbouring municipality of Castelo de Vide, according to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC).
The area burnt is around 1,300 hectares, and the flames affected some second homes and vacant houses, the mayor of Castelo de Vide told Lusa at the time.
"In the municipalities of Portalegre and Castelo de Vide, we're talking about a burnt area of around 1,300 hectares," he estimated.
According to the mayor, the area consumed by the fire is almost entirely "within the Serra de São Mamede Natural Park", which also implies "a great loss in terms of biodiversity".
The Castelo de Vide City Council said it had begun surveying the damage and expected it to be finalised in "a few days".
"There are vacant houses and second homes that have been affected," it said, adding that the same has happened to "EDP infrastructure, communications, the railway line itself, such as a section of the old Cáceres branch line, fences, fences and damage to the forest.
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