"The extensive burned areas have destroyed many fiber optic cable routes, which can only be restored after firefighters have completed the rescue work and after safety conditions have been met for operator technicians to access the sites," explained the National Communications Authority (Anacom) in a written response to Lusa, confirming that "rural fires have, in fact, affected electronic communications services, particularly fixed and mobile services."

The organization said it has been in contact with the main operators, who "have mobilized their teams to quickly restore services" and are making "every effort to mitigate the impacts of the fires on communication services." The work to restore services in consolidated areas is still ongoing.

According to Anacom, Beira Alta was initially the region most impacted, particularly in the municipalities of Meda (Guarda) and Penedono (Viseu), but "the main concern now is the spread of the fire in the municipalities of Covilhã and Fundão (Castelo Branco)."

"Transportable stations, generators, and satellite connections have been used to maintain, as much as possible, basic voice and data services on mobile networks," the regulator further explained.

E-Redes clarified, also in a written response sent to Lusa, that "the low-voltage (LV) power grid, damaged by the fires of recent days, has been progressively repaired, and repair work is still ongoing," in close collaboration with the authorities, particularly with Civil Protection, to ensure the work is carried out safely.

Low-voltage is the part of the grid that carries electricity to end consumers, such as homes and small businesses.

The electricity distribution network operator estimates that there are still some outages to be reported, "located in distant villages, scattered throughout the municipalities where the fires are still burning most intensely.”

Regarding the medium-voltage (MV) grid, which could affect the low-voltage grid, some outages were reported Tuesday night and this morning in the areas affected by the fires, namely Arganil, Mirandela, Montalegre, and Sabugal.

“The resolution of these incidents was, in some cases, hampered by the difficulty of access by technical teams,” E-Redes stated, assuring that “all situations have since been resolved, and the MV grid is now operating normally.”

Mainland Portugal has been affected by multiple large rural fires since July, especially in the North and Central regions.

The fires caused three deaths, including a firefighter, and several injuries, some serious, and completely or partially destroyed first and second homes, as well as farms, livestock, and forestry.

Portugal activated the European Protection Mechanism Civil, under which two Fire Boss aircraft arrived to reinforce the firefighting effort.

According to provisional official data, as of August 20, more than 222,000 hectares had burned in the country, surpassing the area burned in the entire year of 2024.