Several serious forest fires have been raging in northern Portugal since Sunday. In Albergaria-a-Velha, a municipality in the Aveiro district, at least two houses burned down and residents were evacuated. One firefighter suffered a heart attack and died on duty, four others were injured.
There are about 800 firefighters present. According to the mayor, there is a lack of resources to fight the fire. More than 1,600 firefighters are present at various forest fires. The country asked the EU for more firefighting aircraft.
The situation was initially particularly bad in the Aveiro district in the north of the country, where three large fires and numerous smaller ones raged, media reported, citing local authorities.
Some evacuations have already begun
In the 25,000-person community of Albergaria-a-Velha, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Porto, flames engulfed at least two homes. Mayor Antonio Loureiro told the newspaper “Público” that some evacuation operations had already begun. Smoke darkened the skies in the regional capital Aveiro and other communities in the coastal area, the newspaper said.
Several highways partially closed
According to the Portuguese civil protection agency ANEPC (Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil), the three larger fires in the Aveiro district – in Albergaria-a-Velha, Oliveira de Azeméis and Sever do Vouga – were fought by a total of almost 800 emergency responders. services.
More than 250 vehicles and nine fire-fighting aircraft were also to be deployed. The A1, A17, A25 and A29 motorways and several country roads were partially closed.
European partners have been asked for support under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, ANEPC said. According to the authorities, the fires in the Aveiro district all broke out on Sunday evening. The causes initially remained unknown.
Civil protection has issued a forest fire warning
There were also major forest fires in other regions of Portugal, including Castelo Branco near the border with Spain in the east of the country. The civil protection has issued a forest fire warning for the entire mainland until Tuesday evening.
So far this year, Portugal has been largely spared from major forest fires. According to official information, only around 10,000 hectares of nature had been affected as of August 31. This is the lowest value for the period January to August since 2014, the report said.
Source: Krone
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