The fire broke out on Saturday near Odemira, a small coastal town where many foreigners also stay. But since then the fire has spread due to a strong wind towards the Algarve, one of the largest tourist attractions in the country.
The fire has so far destroyed 6,700 hectares of land. A total of nineteen villages, four tourist accommodations and a campsite have also been evacuated. In total there are 1400 people.
High temperatures
The recent wave of forest fires has been triggered by the high temperatures in the country. For example, in the Portuguese city of Santarem, about 75 kilometers northeast of the capital Lisbon, it was 46.4 degrees yesterday, the highest temperature of the year. Portugal and Spain are currently experiencing the third heat wave of this summer.
In Spain, things are going better with the forest fires this week, despite the high temperatures. For example, the three fires that started over the weekend were extinguished and brought under control today. The largest fire, in the northeast, burned about 600 acres of land. In addition, 150 people had to be evacuated.
Spain’s weather agency AEMET said temperatures will continue to rise at least until Friday, with some parts of the southern region of Andalusia seeing temperatures as high as 44 degrees.
In Portugal, temperatures are expected to drop throughout the country, although they will remain above 30 degrees.
2023-08-08 21:44:42
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