A wildfire in the Besteiros area, in the parish of Ameixial, Loulé, is mobilising more than 150 firefighters and has forced the closure of National Road (EN) 2 in both directions, a Civil Protection source told Lusa.

In statements to Lusa, a source from the Algarve Sub-Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command said at 1:30 pm that the fire was being fought by 156 firefighters, supported by 46 vehicles and nine aircraft.

"The fire is covering a large area because the wind is very strong in the area, with projections (of the fire) up to 500 metres," he said, stressing that although there are houses in the fire's area of ​​intervention, there has not yet been a need to evacuate people.

According to the same source, "there was no report to the regional command of the need to evacuate houses," nor any knowledge that such a measure had been determined by the commander of operations on the ground, he stressed.

Abílio Sousa, president of the Ameixial Parish Council, told Sul Informação that the situation is "very complicated."

The fire alert was issued at 10:49 am, and the EN2 road was closed to traffic at 11:25 am as a preventive measure.