27 wildfires raged in Portugal last night, the head of civil defense told local media. The fire threatens villages, including in the Algarve, which is popular with tourists. Hundreds of people have been evacuated.
firefighting planes
North of Lisbon is also hit. Several highways are closed due to the smoke. More than 2,700 firefighters are trying to fight the fire. They are assisted by 30 fire-fighting planes and helicopters. Since the wildfires started in Portugal last week, 135 people have been injured and at least 800 people have been evacuated.
–
–
In the city of Leiria, in the heart of Portugal, an area of 3000 hectares burned. High winds made it difficult for firefighters to fight the fire. In Leiria alone, 900 firefighters are active to fight the blaze.
In about half of the country, a code red remains today due to the extreme weather conditions. The highest temperature in the country was measured yesterday in the town of Lousa. It was 46.3 degrees there.
Spain
Also in western Spain, on the border with Portugal, about 3,500 hectares of land has gone up in flames, according to the authorities. And in the French department of Gironde, fires have already reduced 2,700 hectares of forest to ashes, the prefect of the region told BFMTV. About 6,000 tourists have been evacuated from camp sites.
–
–
“Other campers woke us up at 4:30 am,” Christelle, one of the evacuated vacationers, told BFMTV. “We had to leave immediately and quickly choose what gear we wanted to take with us.”
Today is a national holiday in France, but the authorities do not allow people in Gironde to set off fireworks. This for fear of more forest fires.
Helicopter in the sea
The fire is also raging in some places in Greece. On the island of Samos, in the Aegean Sea, a large wildfire broke out yesterday. There, a fire fighting helicopter plunged into the sea. According to Greek media, at least one of the four crew members was killed.
–
–
