AGUEDA: Deadly wildfires raging across Portugal forced more people to flee their homes as crews battled dozens of blazes in the north of the country on Wednesday.
Sweltering heat and strong winds over the weekend fueled a series of wildfires in the north and centre of the country that have left five people dead, including three firefighters and a volunteer firefighter.
The previous death toll, which was seven, was revised downwards on Wednesday. Civil protection chief André Fernandes said the two deaths from heart attacks could not be directly attributed to the fire.
“The weather situation remains very unfavourable and we do not expect a significant reduction in the risk of forest fires in the next 48 hours,” he added.
Authorities say 59 other people were injured in the fires, 10 of them seriously.
Civil protection authorities listed 42 active fires on their website on Wednesday and said they had mobilized around 3,900 firefighters, more than 1,000 vehicles and around 30 firefighting planes.
France has said it will send two more tanker planes to add to the ones it has already sent. Italy and Spain have also sent aid, and Morocco has said it will send two planes.
In the municipality of Gondomar, just outside Porto, authorities carried out further evacuations on Tuesday evening.
Firefighters battling the blazes in Arouca, in the hard-hit Aveiro region, told local media the situation there was “uncontrollable”.
