Madeira News Blog

Today’s (Saturday) headline in the Diário de Notícias – 1st August, 2009

‘Santa Cruz In Flames – Firefighters pass the day running after fires throughout the area’.

"The fire is a thief", she says almost groaning, a woman of about 60 years, while looking powerlessly at the rise of the voracious flames in the direction of her house, in the sitío de Moinhas da Assomads, Caniço.

During the afternoon she saw the fire in the distance, consuming the the woods on the hillside above. Around about 8pm, the cinders, dragged by the wind in all directions, spread the fires all over the place. One of them had everything it needed to grow and take the flames up the side of a valley, threatening homes at the top. The men of the house tried to prevent the spread of the fire by watering the undergrowth, but the rising temperature from the flames quickly dried out the precautionary measure.

The moment of despair experienced by the inhabitants of Assomada was like that felt by dozens of residents in Santa Cruz yesterday. From Gaula, to Caniço de Baixo, Mâe de Deus, and Tendereira, passing through Assomada and Reis Magos, gives an idea of some of the main areas affected, where the "people were massacred" by the intense and suffocating stench of hundreds of square metres of burning bush. 

Firefighters from Santa Cruz, Funchal, Machico, and Ribeira Brava were in attendance, as well as the Madeira Volunteers, responding to dozens of calls for help from people with fire approaching their homes. At the close of the newspaper deadline last night, it was said that no houses were damaged, but the firefighters were still out there in considerable numbers spread throughout the area. Meanwhile the fire services from Câmara de Lobos, Santana and Machico also had forest fires or similar to deal with in their own jurisdictions. 

‘UNCONTROLLED FIRE IN GAULA – HOMES THREATENED‘

A fire on several fronts in Gaula is causing the panic in the local population. Dozens of homes are threatened. People who are closer to the fire are worried about their property. The fire started around five am this morning at sítio da Lombada, and everything leads to believe it has been a caused through clearing land by burning.

However, the strong wind that is felt at the site caused several outbreaks of fire which is currently uncontrollable.

Diário de Notícias, 12.30pm Friday 31st July 2009

See the video from Tobi

Thanks to Sue and Jon for the photos, and Tobi for the main one and video.

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Elaine (O Sol) : “Here’s a photo taken from Pico do Arieiro looking towards Pico Ruivo the day before yesterday. Pretty hot and airless up there, despite its height”

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(more…)

(31st July). ‘Millions Given To The Jornal da Madeira Could Be Returned – The competition authority yesterday alerted about the illegal support of the Madeira government to the JM. And it says that Europe could demand the return of €23.4 million. Meanwhile the Diário sacked 13 professionals’. You saw this on yesterdays blog before the Diário published it in printed form, so it’s old news now, although I didn’t realise that the Diário had to sack 13 staff … no wonder it seems to be getting thinner.

The regional secretary of Human Resources, Brazão de Castro, said yesterday that the Government here has "serious doubts" and "disagreements" on some of the points raised by the recommendation of the Competition Authority (AdC) on the financial aid provided by the regional government to the newspaper ‘Jornal da Madeira’, and the consequent distortions in competition in the media of Madeira.  "As a partner of the Madeira Autonomous Region there have been made financial transfers to the Journal of Madeira, with the objective of promoting press freedom, pluralism and diversity of the media" he said, adding that if the government strives to meet the recommendation of the AdC "it would need a reasonable time so as to ensure that the company and the jobs it provides are not put at risk". The Executive Director of EDN, the owners of the Diário, stressed that the current situation could have been avoided, and was not a matter of satisfaction for the company. It’s a no win situation in my opinion, with the only possible solution being to take the Journal into private ownership to ensure Madeira keeps two newspapers and healthy balanced reporting. But what sane investor would take on the Journal now, with such a bad and biased reputation, technically bankrupt, and with a cover price (which in reality is zero) that could probably never be reversed?

A Vice President of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira and a leading candidate to succeed Alberto João Jardim, Miguel de Sousa, yesterday made an appeal to the President of Portugal, taking advantage of his visit to Madeira. The appeal is for the state to pay for the extension works at Madeira Airport, which cost €200 million several years ago. The operating company ANAM has to repay the loan and the interest, and it is that overhead that is keeping Madeira’s airport charges very high and very uncompetitive, and without doubt deterring other airlines and travel companies. De Sousa argues that the state pays for motorways in Portugal, and in Madeira "the airport is our motorway". I don’t often agree with PSD politicians, but I think that is a very fair point.

‘Banks Increase Profits by 17% – The four largest private banks in Portugal profited by €760.7 million in the first 6 months’. BES, BCP, BPI, and Santander Totta together managed to make a profit 17.4% up on the same period last year. Santander did the best with €278 million, followed by BES with net profits of €246 million. BPI made the smallest profit of €89 million, but even that was ten times as much as the same period in 2008. Cost containing measures were the main contributor to the improved results.

A bonus today … Tobi’s video taken yesterday at the Madeira Wine Rally in Funchal