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Firefighters quell some of Portugal's worst wildfires, fight still on
On Wednesday, a 270-strong Spanish military emergencies team joined the effort to help exhausted emergency workers in the central Vizeu district
Specialized military firefighters (UEPS-Unidade de Emergencia de Protecao e Socorro) work to prevent a rekindling after a wildfire at Lourizela, Agueda in Aveiro on Wednesday. AFP
Thousands of firefighters tackling deadly wildfires in central and northern Portugal had largely doused the flames in the Aveiro district, one of the worst-hit, as of Thursday morning, and were focusing on a dozen blazes still raging elsewhere.
After five days of ravaging tens of thousands of hectares of forest and farmland, destroying houses and claiming seven lives, the fires in Oliveira de Azemeis, Albergaria-a-Velha and Sever da Vouga in the northwestern district of Aveiro were no longer listed as active on the civil protection service's fires portal.
A man stands in the vicinity of wildfire, near Povoa de Montemuro, Portugal, on Wednesday. REUTERS
Cooler air temperatures with more humidity since Wednesday have helped the firefighting efforts after an unseasonably hot streak during which gusts of wind had propagated the flames.
The weather agency IPMA predicted maximum temperatures of 22-27 degrees Celsius on Thursday across the central and northern regions, well below those recorded in recent days, which exceeded 30 C.
On Wednesday, a 270-strong Spanish military emergencies team joined the effort to help exhausted emergency workers in the central Vizeu district adjacent to Aveiro. As many as 12 aircraft were backing hundreds of firefighters combating flames near the town of Castro Daire in the district.
Spain, Italy, France and Morocco have water-bombing aircraft.
Data from the European Forest Fire Information Service showed that large-scale blazes had burned an area of more than 105,000 hectares since Saturday, making this year's total of some 140,000 ha the widest burned area since 2017, when Portugal suffered two devastating waves of wildfires that killed more than 100 people.
At least some of the dozens of fires across Portugal have been started by arsonists, motivated by possible commercial interest, spite or criminal negligence, authorities said. Police have arrested at least 13 people since Saturday suspected of starting fires.
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