Portuguese firefighters battle seven forest fires as heat returns
Sun Sep 4, 5:11 PM ET
Firefighters in Portugal battled seven forest fires in the centre and north of the drought-hit country following the return of scorching temperatures, the civil protection agency said.
Nearly 1,500 firefighters backed by 381 vehicles and 28 water-dropping aircraft were involved in the firefighting operation in Portugal, which is facing its worst drought since 1945, the agency said in a statement.
The blazes were raging in four of mainland Portugal's 18 administrative districts -- Braganca, Porto, Santarem and Viseu -- after temperatures soared above 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) across most of the country.
Firefighters said the fires, which were fanned by strong winds, rose in number throughout the day as the mercury rose.
The national weather office predicts temperatures will cool Monday, with light rain forecast for the fire-ravaged centre and north of the country the following day.
Three of Portugal's 18 districts face a "maximum" risk, and another three a "very high" risk, of wildfires on Sunday, according to a daily risk assessment issued by the Forest Fire Prevention Agency.
The wildfire risk scale has five scales: maximum, very high, high, moderate and reduced.
A wildfire forced the closure of a stretch of highway near the central town of Fatima for several hours on Sunday due to the threat from the encroaching flames and thick smoke, police said.
Eight firefighters were hurt on Saturday while battling blazes.
Three firefighters were injured, one with burns to about half his body, after they became surrounded by flames while fighting a fire near the central town of Lousa, local officials said.
Another five firefighters were injured when their vehicle overturned late Saturday while on their way to a blaze near the central town of Pombal and a fire truck was charred near the central town of Castelo Branco.
The blazes this year have killed at least 15 people, most of them firefighters, and blackened nearly 240,000 hectares (600,000 acres) of land so far this year.
Two years ago more than 20 people were killed and 425,000 hectares of forest and scrubland destroyed.
Copyright © 2005 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.
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