More than 5,000 firefighters are battling more than 100 wildfires in northern Portugal, where seven people have died and hundreds of thousands are in danger.
Four firefighters and three civilians have died in the country’s worst outbreak of fires in recent years.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro declared a “state of calamity” for the hardest-hit areas late on Tuesday, meaning more firefighters and civil servants can be deployed.
A firefighter works on a wildfire in Veiga, Agueda in northern Portugal. Pic: Reuters
Mr Montenegro urged police to redouble their efforts to find those who started the fires and promised help for those who have lost their homes or have been evacuated.
Speaking on TV, he said “these difficult hours are not over yet. We have to continue to give everything we have”.
Among the worst-affected areas is the district of Aveiro, south of the northern city of Porto, but several major blazes were also raging out of control in other wooded areas.
There are no official figures on property damage or evacuees yet, but 37,000 acres (58 square miles) has been scorched with fires burning over a 13km (8-mile) front, the European Copernicus satellite service said on Tuesday night.
Around 210,000 people are living in areas that could be consumed next, the service added.
Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire on a road in Junqueiro, Agueda, Portugal. Pic: Reuters
People leave their houses as a wildfire approaches, in Veiga, Agueda, northern Portugal. Pic: Reuters
Spain’s military has sent 240 soldiers, along with emergency vehicles, to the scene, while four water-dumping planes have arrived from France, and two each from Spain, Italy and Morocco, but the smoke is so dense it’s hard for them to operate, Portuguese officials said.
Seven men suspected of having started wildfires in recent days have been arrested by Portuguese national police.
Footage of charred houses in rural villages and locals trying to battle flames with buckets of water, hoses, and even large tree branches have been shown by Portuguese state broadcaster RTP.
Other televised images showed visibility reduced to a few meters as orange smoke enveloped the terrain.
Three firefighters died in their vehicle on Tuesday, while another had succumbed to what authorities called a “sudden illness” while on duty over the weekend.
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Three civilians have also died, 10 people have been seriously wounded and another 49 have suffered minor injuries.
Portugal was devastated by massive fires in 2017 that killed over 120 people.
The hot, dry conditions behind the outbreaks in Portugal coincided this week with flooding in central Europe, proving the continent is up against a “climate breakdown”, the EU said on Wednesday.