Nearly 3 100 firefighters and soldiers battled more than two dozen wildfires on Friday for a second straight day in Portugal, while a government official said he foresees ”great difficulties” in the days ahead. At least one man was severely burned.
Portugal is enduring its worst drought on record and woodland is tinder-dry. Fire officials have placed most of the country on maximum alert.
Emergency services are stretched to capacity and the government urged business to release volunteer firefighters.
”We’re going to be up against great difficulties over coming days,” Internal Administration Minister Antonio Costa told reporters.
The injured man was trapped by flames near Ourem, 120km north of Lisbon, and was taken to a hospital with burns on 80% of his body, the national news agency Lusa reported.
Several others were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
Twenty-six wildfires raged on Friday, all of them in northern and central areas of Portugal, the Civil Protection Service said.
There were 2 700 firefighters battling the blazes, and 400 soldiers supporting them.
Huge smoke clouds prevented planes and helicopters from going up to drop water over the fires, though 700 land vehicles were deployed, authorities said. Many firefighting crews did not rest much overnight as they evacuated remote villages threatened by the flames.
Temperatures in some areas were forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius, and the heat wave is expected to continue through the weekend.
The fires also affected public transportation and roadways, with hours-long delays reported.
The wildfires have charred more than 68 000ha of woodland this year, more than half of it last month, according to the General Directorate for Forests.
In neighbouring Spain, firefighters managed to bring blazes in the central Toledo and northern Pamplona areas under control early on Friday but another major fire continued in the north-western Bierzo area.
Spain is experiencing its driest summer since record-keeping began in the 1940s and has seen more than 50 000ha of woodland ruined by about 5 000 forest fires so far this year.
Last month, a blaze apparently sparked by a barbecue fire killed 11 firefighters and destroyed more than 11 000ha of woodland in a nature reserve east of Madrid. — Sapa-AP