Firefighters on Saturday managed to contain huge wildfires in Portugal and the French island of Corsica, although hot weather meant the risk of them spreading again remained high.
Nearly 1,000 people were evacuated in Corsica overnight, mostly tourists staying at campsites, as 2,000 hectares of scrubland was destroyed, although no casualties were reported.
At Cap Corse, the most northerly point of the Mediterranean island where the fire had spread, the blaze was “contained but not controlled,” local authorities said.
Photo: EPA
“It’s hell,” said Christian Burchi, a 50-year-old Sisco resident. “We tried to extinguish the flames with two buckets of water and a ridiculous hose. Everywhere is burning.”
About 180 firefighters, bolstered by reinforcements from the mainland, were battling the flames aided by three fire-bombing aircraft.
French Minister of the Interior Gerard Collomb praised the “admirable work” of the hundreds of emergency services.
In Portugal, firefighters managed to bring two of the major blazes under control in the center of the country by Saturday afternoon, the civil protection authority announced, while warning that the heatwave could reignite the fires.
Firefighters have stopped the spreading of the flames from the forest fire that raged in the region of Abrantes since Wednesday, authorities said.
However, more than 500 firefighters, nearly 200 vehicles and three water-bombing helicopters remain on standby should the fires flare up again, they added.
A record 220 fires had started on Friday alone, civil protection agency spokeswoman Patricia Gaspar said.
Some residents have voiced anger at authorities after a season of repeated wildfires which have stretched resources.
“Firefighters can’t perform miracles, they are exhausted,” Bracal resident Lucia Ricardo said.
After an uncommonly dry winter and spring, nearly 79 percent of the Portuguese mainland was enduring extreme or severe drought at the end of last month, the national weather office said.
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