Wildfires in Portugal blamed for at least six deaths as Europe sends aircraft to help
Five thousand firefighters are struggling to contain multiple wildfires raging across northern Portugal that are blamed for causing at least six deaths and forcing an unknown number of residents to flee their homes
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Five thousand firefighters struggled Tuesday to contain multiple wildfires raging across northern Portugal that are blamed for causing at least six deaths including four firefighters and forcing an unknown number of residents to flee their homes.
Some 100 fires reported by national authorities stretched the firefighting brigades. Authorities have yet to give figures on how many people have had to evacuate and how many homes have been lost. Over 50 people have been injured.
Civil Protection official André Fernandes said that three firefighters had died while traveling by road Tuesday, but it was not known if their vehicle had crashed before it was engulfed by flames. The deaths of two civilians were confirmed, one from burns and the other from cardiac arrest, and one more firefighter died from an unspecified illness while on duty, over the weekend.
With no rain forecast, national authorities prolonged an alert for fires until Thursday. The measure included a ban on farmers using heavy machinery to harvest crops because of the risk of sparks that could start more fires.
