Thousands of firefighters battling more than 100 wildfires along 8-mile front in Portugal

Thousands of firefighters battling more than 100 wildfires along 8-mile front in Portugal

A state of “calamity” has been declared in the regions most impacted by Portugal’s biggest fire outbreak in recent memory,

which scorched over 58 square miles in the country’s north.

More than 5,000 firemen are battling more than 100 wildfires in northern Portugal, putting hundreds of thousands of

people in danger and resulting in seven fatalities so far.

Three citizens and four firefighters have died in the worst fires in the country’s history.

Late on Tuesday, Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro proclaimed a “state of calamity” for the worst affected areas,

allowing for the deployment of additional firefighters and civil personnel.

Mr. Montenegro pledged assistance to people who have been evacuated or have lost their houses, and he asked authorities to step up

their efforts to identify the individuals responsible for the fires.

“These challenging times are not yet over,” he stated on television. We must keep offering everything we have.

The region of Aveiro, south of the northern city of Porto, is one of the worst-hit locations, but other forested areas were also seeing a

number of large fires that were out of control.

The European Copernicus satellite agency reported on Tuesday night that 37,000 acres (58 square miles) have been charred by fires

blazing over a 13km (8-mile) front, though there are yet no official statistics on property damage or evacuees.

Around 210,000 people are living in areas that could be consumed next, the service added.

Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire on a road in Junqueiro, Agueda, Portugal.

Spain’s military has sent 240 soldiers, along with emergency vehicles, to the scene, while four water-dumping planes have arrived

from France, and two each from Spain, Italy and Morocco, but the smoke is so dense it’s hard for them to operate, Portuguese officials

said.

Footage of charred houses in rural villages and locals trying to battle flames with buckets of water, hoses, and even large tree branches

have been shown by Portuguese state broadcaster RTP.

Other televised images showed visibility reduced to a few meters as orange smoke enveloped the terrain.

Three firefighters died in their vehicle on Tuesday, while another had succumbed to what authorities called a “sudden illness” while on

duty over the weekend.

There have also been three civilian fatalities, ten major injuries, and forty-nine minor injuries.

In 2017, catastrophic fires devastated Portugal, killing more than 120 people.

The EU stated on Wednesday that the region is facing a “climate breakdown” because the hot, dry weather that caused the breakouts

in Portugal also coincided with flooding in central Europe this week.

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