Wildfires swept across Portugal’s central region on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of locals, as firefighters struggled to put out …
Wildfires swept across Portugal’s central region on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of locals, as firefighters struggled to put out flames at a time the country is battling a sweltering heatwave.
Temperatures are above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many parts of the country.
A major wildfire that started last week in the Ourém municipality, north of Lisbon, was reignited on Tuesday due to strong winds. The Civil Protection authority said 300 people were evacuated from several villages.
In the nearby municipality of Leiria, houses had been burned down, with the blazes causing the closure of three main highways.
Many locals have complained there were not enough firefighters and resources to combat the fires.
“We are talking about complex situations, a lot of resources to manage and a very large affected area,” said Civil Protection commander Andre Fernandes, warning the situation would only get worse over the next few days.
Around 1,700 firefighters, backed by 501 vehicles, were tackling 14 active blazes across the country, Civil Protection authorities said. Meanwhile, more than half of the country is on “red alert”, the highest level.
In neighbouring Spain, at least 1,500 hectares have been destroyed by a fire in Las Hurdes in Extremadura, western Spain, forcing the evacuation of about 400 residents, the regional government said on Tuesday.
There was also a high risk of wildfires in the central region of Castille and Leon, authorities said, while the northwestern province of Ourense was on red alert as temperatures were expected to reach 42 C.
