Portugal has been suffering for days from a succession of fires that, this Monday, amount to 14 active fires, with 2,000 firefighters deployed mainly in two of them, in the central and southern regions of the country, and which have caused the evacuation of about a hundred people and two slightly injured, according to the security forces, which are still investigating the causes.
Those points where the fire poses the greatest risk are Ourém (140 km north of Lisbon), and Odemira, in the Beja district, to the south. And “the wind and high temperatures” are the factors that are making the extinction work difficult, as sources from the Portuguese Civil Protection services have explained to Efe. Temperatures are close to 40° and are expected to rise in the coming days due to the third heat wave facing the Peninsula.
A forest fire caused the cut of the A1 highway in Leiria, Portugal, this month. PAULO CUNHA (EFE)
Firefighters work to put out the flames in the municipality of Odemira, Portugal, this Monday. LUIS FORRA (EFE)
Several people observe the forest fire in the municipality of Odemira, this Monday. LUIS FORRA (EFE)
The smoke from the forest fire has caused the closure of the A1 motorway in Leiria, Portugal, this Monday. PAULO CUNHA (EFE)
A man throws water to put out the flames of the fire in the municipality of Odemira, Portugal, this Monday. LUIS FORRA (EFE)
A person observes the fire in the municipality of Odemira, Portugal, this Monday. LUIS FORRA (EFE)
Several cars drive on the A1 motorway in Leiria, Portugal, this Monday. PAULO CUNHA (EFE)
As the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) reported this Sunday, a very hot and dry African continental air mass has entered from the south and is causing the thermometer to continue rising, atypical even for this time, and will do so until Thursday in most of the Peninsula.
In Portugal, this Monday close to 300 troops with 88 vehicles and two aerial means are fighting an ongoing fire in the town of Ourém, in the Santarém district, which has left two firefighters with minor injuries and a civilian assisted. In Odemira, 637 troops are working with 183 vehicles and eight aerial means against a fire that has left a firefighter with minor injuries and the assistance of nine other agents. There, in addition, 101 people residing in the area have been evacuated due to the proximity of the flames.
But are not the only ones. On Friday, more than 70 municipalities in the north and center of Portugal, as well as some in the south, were in maximum danger of fire due to high temperatures, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA). That day, in Santo André das Tojeiras, a wooded area that is difficult to access in Castelo Branco, near the border with Cáceres, a fire broke out that in 24 hours destroyed more than 6,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people.
On Saturday, the situation caused Portugal to activate the Iberian mechanism to fight the fire and requested the collaboration of the Spanish media to combat it; When Sunday arrived, more than 1,000 troops were already working on that fire whose perimeter reached “60 kilometers”, according to José Guilherme, the commander of the rescue services in charge of the operations, at a press conference. He calculated that “the potential of this fire could reach more than 20,000 hectares.”
This Monday, the country maintains 2,053 troops mobilized, 659 land means and 19 air means, mostly in the center of Portugal, against the 14 fires that are still active.
Uno de los incendios en Portugal, at the height of Cardosos, this August 7th. PAULO CUNHA (EFE)
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