Seven people have died and more than 50 have been injured in wildfires raging through central and northern Portugal, with three firefighters among the dead after their vehicle was trapped in the flames on Tuesday.
Portugal’s civil protection service reported that 54 wildfires were burning across the country, primarily in the northern regions, prompting the mobilization of 5,300 firefighters. Assistance from France, Greece, Italy, and Spain arrived in the form of eight water-bombing planes, deployed through the EU’s mutual aid mechanism.
Firefighters worked tirelessly through Monday night to combat four major fires near the towns of Nelas and Aveiro, south of Porto. Television footage showed residents attempting to extinguish rapidly advancing flames with buckets of water.
In the Aveiro region alone, over 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of forest and scrubland have been destroyed in the past two days — equivalent to the area burned by fires across the country this year.
National civil protection commander, Andre Fernandes, confirmed the deaths of two women and a man, all firefighters, near Nelas. Four civilians, including a man who was trying to retrieve tools from his shed, also perished on Monday.
Fernandes warned that the fires, which have already forced the closure of railway lines and motorways, including a key route between Lisbon and Porto, could destroy an additional 20,000 hectares. Experts described Monday’s conditions as the highest fire risk in northern Portugal since 2001.
Portugal’s prime minister, Luís Montenegro, canceled his scheduled engagements to address the escalating crisis, noting that the country faced “very difficult times” ahead, with an extreme fire warning extended until Thursday night.
After a relatively mild start to the year in terms of wildfires, Portugal and Spain have seen rising temperatures exceeding 30°C over the weekend, with low humidity and strong winds fueling the blazes.
In response to deadly fires in 2017, which claimed 64 lives, Portugal significantly increased its fire-prevention funding and doubled its firefighting budget.
Scientists continue to warn that human-caused climate change is intensifying extreme weather events worldwide, including heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires, as seen in Portugal this week.