More than 1,300 firefighters and dozens of aircraft are battling three large forest fires in Portugal. Due to prolonged heat and drought, the country has declared a red alert. The Arouca district was most affected, where residents were evacuated and tourist routes were closed.
UNN writes about this with reference to Reuters.
Details
More than 1,300 firefighters, supported by a dozen water-bombing aircraft, battled three large forest fires in central and northern Portugal on Tuesday, after authorities declared most of the country under a red fire alert due to weeks of hot weather.
As indicated, in the Arouca district, approximately 300 km north of Lisbon, where the largest fire has been raging since Monday, the civil protection service evacuated several dozen residents from their homes and closed the Passadiços do Paiva trails.
It's desperate to see this... we need help, we need air support
He blamed the fires on droughts linked to climate change, which have completely dried up the forests in the region.
Further north, in the Peneda-Gerês National Park near the Spanish border, a forest fire has been raging since Saturday, engulfing nearby villages in thick smoke, which has led to orders for residents to stay indoors several times.
Spain sent several water-bombing planes to help control the flames in the area.
Also early on Tuesday, three forest fires were raging in the Spanish region of Castile and León, the strongest of which was near Ávila, about 100 km west of Madrid. Residents of the town of Mombeltrán were ordered to stay indoors due to the smoke.
Addition
Hot and dry summers are common in the Mediterranean, but in recent years, rising temperatures and increasingly powerful heatwaves have led to larger and more destructive forest fires. In recent weeks alone, dozens of fires caused by anomalous heat have been recorded in Turkey.
Earlier, UNN wrote that forest fires continue to rage in Greece and Turkey, where the highest temperature in history has been recorded. In Turkey, three volunteers died in an accident with a water truck while extinguishing a fire in Kestel.