More than 3,000 firefighters and 30 aircraft on Sunday battled wildfires in Portugal that authorities said have injured 29 people.
Twelve firefighters and 17 civilians required medical assistance to treat minor injuries caused by the blazes, Radio e Televisao de Portugal and other local media quoted authorities as saying.
By Sunday afternoon, the Portuguese National Authority for Civil Protection said more than 3,000 firefighters were combating active fires.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The EU on Sunday activated its firefighting air fleet assistance program that enables member nations to share resources to help Portugal. Spain, which has also endured wildfires recently, quickly responded by mobilizing two firefighting planes to send to its neighbor, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said.
Portugal has long suffered large and sometimes tragic forest fires. In 2017, wildfires killed more than 100 people.
The EU has said that climate change has the continent facing one of its hardest years for natural disasters such as droughts and wildfires.
Across the border in Spain, a fire in the southwest led authorities to evacuate 30 people from homes as a precaution. About 115 firefighters backed by helicopters and planes were deployed to the fire near the village of El Ronquillo.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa postponed his plans to visit Mozambique this week “in view of the weather forecasts that indicate a very serious worsening of the risk of rural fires.”
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa likewise canceled his trip to New York, where he was to speak at the UN Economic and Social Council.
Last month, 96 percent of the southern European country was classified as being in either in “extreme” or “severe” drought.
The fires have caused authorities to increase a state of alert already in place. Portugal’s government declared a state of heightened alert on Saturday that runs through Friday.
“This means ... we can automatically and preventively activate all emergency and civil protection plans at all territorial levels,” Portuguese Minister of Internal Administration Jose Luis Carneiro said.
The wildfires are coming amid a heat wave with temperatures expected to reach 43°C.
Portugal has adopted restrictions barring public access to forests deemed to be at special risk, banned the use of farm machinery and outlawed fireworks.
Costa wrote on Twitter that people should not to light any fires outdoors or use heavy farm machinery that can cause sparks.
“Preventing fires is the best help we can give our firefighters,” the prime minister wrote.
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