Portugal declares state of disaster as forest fires rage out of control

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — More than 100 wildfires have strained the energy of thousands of firefighters in the country’s north. Portugal Wednesday, with seven deaths since Worst wave of fires in recent years It got out of hand over the weekend.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro declared a state of disaster in the worst-hit areas late Tuesday, ordering the mobilization of more firefighters and civil servants. He also called on police investigators to redouble their efforts to find those who started the fires and pledged assistance to those who lost their homes or were evacuated.

“We are well aware that these difficult hours are not over yet. We must continue to give everything we have and ask for help from our partners and friends so that we can strengthen the protection of our people and our property,” Montenegro said in a televised address to the nation.

More than 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) had burned and 13 kilometres (8 miles) of fire fronts were monitored as of Tuesday evening, the European satellite service Copernicus said. The area, home to 210,000 people, was at risk of fire, it added.

The hot, dry conditions that led to the outbreak in Portugal coincided with Floods in Central EuropeThe European Union said on Wednesday that the extreme weather events in close proximity are Evidence of “climate collapse”. “

The Spanish army sent 240 soldiers and vehicles from emergency response battalions specializing in fighting fires to its neighbor.

Four water-dropping planes have been sent from France, two from Spain and two from Italy in response to a call for help from their fellow EU member. Morocco has also responded to a request from Portugal with two water-dropping planes arriving on Wednesday.

“The thick smoke from most of these fires makes it very difficult for civil defense units to work. We are still at high risk of forest fires breaking out over the next 48 hours,” said Andrés Fernández, a civil protection official.

Thick grey smoke and the smell of burning wood reached 85 kilometres (50 miles) across the border into northwestern Spain.

Montenegro has issued a special appeal to security forces to pursue the perpetrators of the fires and any individuals who started them negligently. The Portuguese National Police said it had arrested seven men suspected of starting forest fires in recent days.

Authorities have banned the use of heavy agricultural equipment to reduce the risk of unintentional fires.

Among the worst-hit areas is the Aveiro region, south of the northern city of Porto, but several large fires are also burning out of control in other forest areas.

Authorities have yet to release figures for property damage or the number of people evacuated, but Portuguese broadcaster PRT showed burning homes in rural villages and locals battling the flames with buckets of water, hoses and even large tree branches. Other television images showed visibility reduced to a few metres as orange smoke blanketed the area.

Three firefighters died Tuesday in their vehicle, while another died of what authorities described as a “sudden illness” while on duty over the weekend. Three civilians also died, according to civil protection authorities. Fernandez said health services were treating 10 people with serious injuries and 49 others with minor injuries.

Portugal is destroyed Massive fires in 2017 Which led to the death of more than 120 people.

Experts link the fires to both: climate change And the abandonment of traditional agricultural and forestry occupations that helped keep rural areas free of undergrowth that now becomes fuel for fires.

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Joseph Wilson wrote from Barcelona, ​​Spain. Teresa Medrano contributed from Pontevedra, Spain.