Mayor Basílio Horta explained to Lusa, the decision was
taken this morning by the municipality's crisis office and implies a ban on the
movement of people and vehicles, parking and permanence of vehicles within the
forest perimeter, with the exception of vehicles for residents and companies
based there, aid, emergency and Civil Protection.
With the closure of the entire perimeter of the Sintra
mountain range, in the district of Lisbon, all monuments that “have to do
directly or indirectly with the forest space”, namely the Palaces of Pena, dos
Mouros, Monserrate, Quinta da Regaleira and Convento dos Capuchos, will be
closed until at least Friday.
“We are very aware of this moment of urgency that we are
experiencing. Sintra is a municipality with peculiarities because we have an
extensive rural area, an extensive forest area and an extremely concentrated
urban area. Therefore, we have added problems that we have to face and solve”,
justified the mayor.