Wildfires are sweeping across northern and central Portugal, where an estimated 3,000 firefighters and more than 60 aircraft are battling to put out the flames amid searing temperatures. Authorities said 12 firefighters and 17 civilians needed medical attention for minor injuries caused by the flames, Portuguese state television RTP and other local media reported on Sunday. The European Union on Sunday activated its firefighting air fleet assistance program that allows member states to share resources. Spain, which has also suffered fires recently, responded quickly by mobilizing two firefighting planes to send to its Iberian neighbor, according to EU Crisis Commissioner Janez Lenarcic. The Portuguese government has announced that it has deployed 60 aircraft to support its ground crews. Portugal has long suffered from large, and sometimes tragic, forest fires. In 2017, wildfires killed more than 100 people. The EU says climate change is confronting the continent with one of its toughest years for natural disasters such as droughts and wildfires.
“Emergency situation”
Fires have been burning in many areas since last week, and nearly 250 new fires were reported to have broken out on Friday and Saturday. The government has declared a “state of emergency” from July 11 to 15 – below the disaster and emergency states, and Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa canceled a planned trip to Mozambique so he could monitor the fires. “We are facing an almost unprecedented situation from a meteorological point of view,” Andre Fernandez, the national commander of civil protection, said on Saturday. Portugal has already seen extreme weather this year, with drought affecting around 28% of the country’s territory in June, compared to just 1% in May. Scientists say climate change is linked to more extreme and frequent weather events, including heat waves and wildfires. The Portuguese Institute for the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) predicted a gradual rise in temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country this weekend. Around 1,500 firefighters were mobilized to put out three fires that had been raging for more than 48 hours in central and northern Portugal as the country was hit by heat that prompted the government to declare a “state of emergency”. [Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP] The country has adopted restrictions banning public access to forests deemed to be at particular risk, banned the use of agricultural machinery and banned fireworks. Prime Minister Costa, in a message on Twitter, reminded citizens not to light fires outdoors or use heavy agricultural machinery that could cause sparks. “Fire prevention is the best help we can give our firefighters,” he wrote. In the settlement of Travessa de Almogadel in central Portugal, retiree Donzilia Marques was relieved to find her home undamaged when she returned on Sunday after being evacuated the night before. More than 700 soldiers were sent to the area on Sunday after fires destroyed about 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of vegetation, the National Civil Protection Authority estimated. “The fire reached 50 meters (165 feet) from the last house in the village … up there everything was burnt,” the 76-year-old Marques told AFP, pointing to the hills between her home and the nearby town of Freixianda. More than 700 soldiers were sent to the area on Sunday after the fires destroyed about 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of vegetation, the Civil Protection agency estimated. [Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP]
