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erm...I thought we had been here before......
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Guest
erm...I thought we had been here before......
yes great news from the Algarve observer (see below)....but wait a minute wasnt the prevoius govenment going to do this as well???'
or this another example of promises made until next year...then its a case of DOH........we never said that.
please keep a copy of this article so next year we can all remind them of what was said.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Portugal
Fire-fighters face calm day, Govt vows to buy air tanker fleet
8/26/2005 2:27:00 PM
Fire-fighters in Portugal faced a second day of relative calm Friday as temperatures remained lower following two weeks of intense wildfires fanned by strong winds and extreme heat, fire-fighting officials said.
According to the National Fire-fighting and Civil Protection Service (SNBPC), no fires were burning anywhere in the country, although around 1,200 fire-fighters were still in the field watching for re-ignitions.
The government, which has been widely criticised for not having its own fire-fighting airplanes and helicopters, promised Thursday it would acquire its own tanker planes in 2006 to fight wildfires as of next year.
Interior Minister António Costa, speaking at a breakfast meeting with fire-fighters brought in from the Azores to battle blazes in continental Portugal, said "the State will invest" in acquiring tanker planes and will have "its own fleet, whether it is purchased or hired on a long-term basis".
Every year the Portuguese government spends some euros 25 million on hiring private tanker planes and helicopters to fight the annual wildfires.
After a weekend when over 50 forest fires were burning out of control the government appealed to the European Union for help and has since received several loans of water tank airplanes, helicopters and crew from EU member-states.
Costa said he had contacted the German government offering to return the helicopter and crew sent by them in order for it to be used in rescue operations resulting from the "serious floods" Germany is currently suffering.
Ten Puma helicopters that are due to be put out of commission by the Portuguese army will also be refurbished for use by the Civil Protection Services, Costa said.
The director of the national Authority for Forest Fires, Ferreira do Amaral, said Tuesday that the latest estimates point to 180,000 hectares of land destroyed this fire season.
Fifteen people have been killed in 2005 as a result of forest fires, 11 of them fire-fighters.
Despite reduced temperatures, the Meteorological Institute expects temperatures to soar again over the next few days and has placed three of Portugal+s 18 districts on "maximum risk" alert for wildfires on Saturda
or this another example of promises made until next year...then its a case of DOH........we never said that.
please keep a copy of this article so next year we can all remind them of what was said.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Portugal
Fire-fighters face calm day, Govt vows to buy air tanker fleet
8/26/2005 2:27:00 PM
Fire-fighters in Portugal faced a second day of relative calm Friday as temperatures remained lower following two weeks of intense wildfires fanned by strong winds and extreme heat, fire-fighting officials said.
According to the National Fire-fighting and Civil Protection Service (SNBPC), no fires were burning anywhere in the country, although around 1,200 fire-fighters were still in the field watching for re-ignitions.
The government, which has been widely criticised for not having its own fire-fighting airplanes and helicopters, promised Thursday it would acquire its own tanker planes in 2006 to fight wildfires as of next year.
Interior Minister António Costa, speaking at a breakfast meeting with fire-fighters brought in from the Azores to battle blazes in continental Portugal, said "the State will invest" in acquiring tanker planes and will have "its own fleet, whether it is purchased or hired on a long-term basis".
Every year the Portuguese government spends some euros 25 million on hiring private tanker planes and helicopters to fight the annual wildfires.
After a weekend when over 50 forest fires were burning out of control the government appealed to the European Union for help and has since received several loans of water tank airplanes, helicopters and crew from EU member-states.
Costa said he had contacted the German government offering to return the helicopter and crew sent by them in order for it to be used in rescue operations resulting from the "serious floods" Germany is currently suffering.
Ten Puma helicopters that are due to be put out of commission by the Portuguese army will also be refurbished for use by the Civil Protection Services, Costa said.
The director of the national Authority for Forest Fires, Ferreira do Amaral, said Tuesday that the latest estimates point to 180,000 hectares of land destroyed this fire season.
Fifteen people have been killed in 2005 as a result of forest fires, 11 of them fire-fighters.
Despite reduced temperatures, the Meteorological Institute expects temperatures to soar again over the next few days and has placed three of Portugal+s 18 districts on "maximum risk" alert for wildfires on Saturda