Portugal is suffocating and forest fires multiply

The Portugal Once again plagued by Impressive forest fires. As many as 2,800 firefighters were mobilized on Sunday in an effort to put an end to a series of fires that have swept the country, which have also been victims. scorching temperatures. The government then reinforced relief mobilization by declaring a “state of emergency”.

The largest outbreak of the disease since Thursday was in the Orem (central) region and alone mobilized nearly 700 firefighters. “The fire reached within 50 meters of the last house in the village (…). “Everything was burnt there,” Donzelia Marquez told AFP.

The fires, which would have destroyed at least 1,500 hectares of vegetation according to a first estimate, destroyed at least two homes, according to emergency services, which reported other temporary evacuations of villages threatened by the fire.

Forty wounded

The last fire ignited the crowd of 450 firefighters since Friday, a few kilometers away, after declaring itself in the municipality of Pombal, also located at the confluence of the provinces of Leiria and Santarém.

The fires of the past few days have caused about forty minor injuries among firefighters and residents, but most of the victims were immediately treated for symptoms of intoxication or exhaustion, according to a report provided by the national commander Sunday night. Civil Protection, Andre Fernandez.

Next peak temperature

For the third day in a row, peacekeepers have had to deal with more than a hundred fires that have broken out across the country, while the “peak of severe weather” is still to come, Andre Fernandez asserted.

Thermometers have already reached 44 degrees Celsius in some places, and the Portuguese Meteorological Institute expects temperatures to continue to rise until the middle of next week.

Activate the “emergency”

After this “extremely dangerous” weekend, according to Prime Minister Antonio Costa, the Portuguese government has therefore decided to issue a “state of emergency” between Monday and Friday, to raise the level of service mobilization by a degree. any restrictions they may impose.

Lisbon also asked the European Union to activate its Common Civil Protection Mechanism, and to get two seaplanes sent to Spain.

The fires that multiply all over the world are linked to various phenomena that scientists expect due to global warming. An increase in temperature, a doubling of heat waves and a decrease in precipitation in places is an ideal combination for the development of fires.