Huge Forest Fire Killed An Unknown Number Of People (Portugal, June 17th)

Module 79L

Module 79L

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The current number is 62 but the forensic authorities have yet many burnt down houses to search and there are also a number of victims that were found in the roads of the surrounding areas, so this number will probably increase as the hours go by. More than 30 people were caught by very fast moving flames that cut the road they were using to escape the fire and died trapped inside their cars. Among the victims there are 4 children. :cry::cry::cry::cry:
This fire was caused by a lightning from a dry thunderstorm that struck a tree and set it on fire. The current weather situation in Portugal was the major factor that helped the fire to spread very quickly, catching people off-guard.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/18/europe/portugal-fire/index.html
 
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Truly horrible news :( My thoughts go to those affected and my hopes go for no more victims being found.

Phil
 
SawMaster said:
Truly horrible news :( My thoughts go to those affected and my hopes go for no more victims being found.

Phil
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Fortunately, so far the number of casualties has remain the same but some of the injured are in critical condition. We are being helped by Spain and France with 3 Canadairs and the Armed Forces were also deployed to the region to help. The fire's active fronts are now moving southeast and we still have 2 more days of intense heat. We'll need all the help we can get because the firefighters cannot endure fighting the fire under these conditions for so long. :(
 
Hope the casualties don't go any higher and they can extinguish the blaze as soon as possible. Does Europe have the equivalent of Smokejumpers like here in the USA and in Russia?
 
Dashmellow said:
Hope the casualties don't go any higher and they can extinguish the blaze as soon as possible. Does Europe have the equivalent of Smokejumpers like here in the USA and in Russia?
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Yes, we have them here in Portugal as well but this fire was humanly impossible to fight, to control or even to steer away from populated areas. Strong winds, constantly changing direction, the lowest possible humidity levels and more than 40ºC (104ºF) were the deadly recipe that made the fire progress so quickly that there was no time to evacuate anyone. :(

The description made by some of the survivors reminded me of this:
 
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This is a picture of the National Road 236, where more than 30 people died trapped inside their cars when they were suddenly cut off by the rapid moving flames. I don't even want to think about the terror it must've been. :cry:

EN 236.jpg
 
Horrific stuff :(

In case anyone is wondering how quick wildfires escalate, dashcam style:

 
 
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Thank God it started raining in the area this morning. I'm not invoking the name of God because I'm a religious person but because only a miracle could help put out those fires.
The temperatures have gone down a bit but the affected area is still expecting 36 and 37ºC (96.8 and 98.6ºF) between today and tomorrow.
 
My offer to take 10 - 15 degrees of those temperatures still stand, anything to help the poor people of Portugal.
 
A fire needs three things to burn heat, fuel & oxygen.

Where you can, start putting in as many fire breaks as possible. i.e. you burn the grass in a controlled manner.
Once the grass has burnt, it can't burn a second time.
If the fire jumps over your fire break, it will be easier to control & kill.

I see you seem to have a lot of trees.
It is not impossible to install fire breaks, just a bit harder.
You need to cut fire breaks around them & remove all the fine branches & leaves that are easy to ignite.
If you can't remove the fuel, try , remove the oxygen supply by covering it with sand.
 
kamkar1 said:
My offer to take 10 - 15 degrees of those temperatures still stand, anything to help the poor people of Portugal.
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Oh, believe me, I'd gladly send them to you and for free! And if I could have some rain in exchange, even better!
 
Hermes14 said:
A fire needs three things to burn heat, fuel & oxygen.

Where you can, start putting in as many fire breaks as possible. i.e. you burn the grass in a controlled manner.
Once the grass has burnt, it can't burn a second time.
If the fire jumps over your fire break, it will be easier to control & kill.

I see you seem to have a lot of trees.
It is not impossible to install fire breaks, just a bit harder.
You need to cut fire breaks around them & remove all the fine branches & leaves that are easy to ignite.
If you can't remove the fuel, try , remove the oxygen supply by covering it with sand.
Click to expand...
According to what I've heard from specialists during these days, not even the fire breaks would've helped. The area swept by the fire has many large natural open areas and it didn't stop it.
The three 30's - less than 30% relative humidity, over 30ºC and winds with more than 30km/h - were met but what helped make this the biggest and deadliest wildfire ever in Portugal was the strong wind, constantly changing direction. The helicopter pilots couldn't fight the fire properly because the smoke was constantly changing direction and they couldn't dump the water where it was needed.
Like I said above, everybody agrees that it was humanly impossible to tackle this fire due to the conditions. :(
 
Module 79L said:
According to what I've heard from specialists during these days, not even the fire breaks would've helped. The area swept by the fire has many large natural open areas and it didn't stop it.
The three 30's - less than 30% relative humidity, over 30ºC and winds with more than 30km/h - were met but what helped make this the biggest and deadliest wildfire ever in Portugal was the strong wind, constantly changing direction. The helicopter pilots couldn't fight the fire properly because the smoke was constantly changing direction and they couldn't dump the water where it was needed.
Like I said above, everybody agrees that it was humanly impossible to tackle this fire due to the conditions. :(
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I know that wind can be a nightmare, apart from blowing the smoke all over the show, it can turn a little fire into a furnace very quickly
The really big fire I have had to fight was on Signal hill in Simonstown back in 1986 when I was doing my national service.
The only other way to kill that fire is with explosives.
Thar split second that the explosives splits the air for is enough to kill it, but that can be very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing.
Once you have extinguished it, you need to get fire fighters in as fast as possible to kill all the embers.
 
Explosives have often been used to put out fires, works well, but while i do love explosives they are hard to get and i am no longer brave enough to make my own, plus today that's even more frowned upon compared to the early 80ties when we was cooking our own.

But putting on a smoke diver outfit and jump in there, that's pretty cool and that i can do, or rather use to be able to do, though when temperatures really get up there ( several 100 degrees ) then you do start to evaluate your options and be damn careful about what you do as failure are only a split second away.

I was even charged of being a pyromaniac once, totally false off course, as it also was when i was accused of being a animal molester when i was a kid.

Many things i am or have been, but those 2 things are not ever one of them,
 
Yes, the priming, placing & setting off of the explosives needs to be done by an expert.
If you have to go through an area where there is a lot of smoke, take a cloth, wet it then ring it out, tie it around your mouth & nose, stay as close to the ground as possible & move through the smoke.
It is not as effective as a respirator but it will filter out a lot of the smoke & help you breath.
When fighting grass fire on a farm we used to take a piece of car tyre tube about 50cm x 50cm (because it is made of rubber, it is thin & very flexable) a piece of strong wire & a nice long pole.
Tie the wire along on length of the tube & fasten the pole to the tube & the wire.
Use the tube at the end of the pole to kill the fire.
You objective is to smother the fire, don't hit the fire too hard otherwise it will send the burning pieces of grass flying & you will have a much bigger fire.
I have found this to be more effective than a wet hessian bag.
 
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