Near 700 people have been evacuated due to the advance of the fire in Portugalwhich activated the European aid mechanism again and will receive four planes from France and Italy, in addition to the two already sent by Spain.
The evacuees -669 people from central and southern Portugal- they will begin to gradually return to their homes, but “it is a long process”Andre Fernandes, commander of the National Emergency and Civil Protection, admitted today. In total, about 45 wounded are counted. In addition, Portugal already reports five seriously injured firefighters after the vehicle they were traveling in was consumed by flames, as well as a VCOT from the Almada corporation.
In addition, the police investigate the discovery of the charred body of a woman in a small rural fire in the vicinity of Aveiro -near Porto, far from the red zone for fires- and which, according to initial conclusions, was due to an accident. It would be the only fatality so far.
In Faro (Algarve, south of the country), the other great fire front, the wind complicates the extinction tasks in the vicinity of the university and near a residential area that has already been evacuated.
The flames, which extend for more than eight kilometers, broke out near the site where thousands of motorcyclists who will participate this week in a motorcycle festival in Faro are concentrated. the third flank open in Portugal is in the north, in the Peneda Geres National Park, where several villages are threatened. In fact, this fire can already be seen from Pontevedra.
The drought that most of the country is suffering feeds the fires and the low water level in the dams makes it difficult to supply the planes that work in the extinction.
The Portuguese Government maintains a red alert throughout the country and has declared a state of contingency, which includes the prohibition of stubble burning, the use of pyrotechnics, machinery and activity in forest areas and the reinforcement of firefighting equipment.
Source: Lasexta
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