VIGÉ, Portugal, Sept 19 (Askume) – Firefighters battling deadly wildfires in central and northern Portugal had extinguished the blazes in the worst-hit Aveiro region by Thursday, while fires were still raging elsewhere.
After five days of ravaging thousands of hectares of forest and farmland, destroying homes and killing seven people, the fire in the northwestern Aveiro region of Oliveira de Azeméis, Albergaria-a-Velha and Sever da Vouga is now under control and is no longer listed as active on the Civil Defense’s fire portal.
Smoke still rose from Old Albertia as the fire destroyed parking lots, burned cars, trees and roads.
“The situation was very scary because the wind was very strong and the fire was extinguished very quickly, but the situation was very scary,” Maria Rodrigues, a resident of the northern village of Masela, told Askume.
He is worried about his 11 sheep. “They have nothing to eat now because there is nothing on the mountain,” he said.
Cool temperatures and high humidity have helped firefighting efforts since Wednesday, and strong winds during unusually warm weather have fanned the flames.
“Although the next 12 hours will be complex, the weather conditions are likely to improve,” Civil Defence Commander Andre Fernandes told reporters.
A Spanish military emergency team of 270 members joined the operation on Wednesday to assist exhausted emergency workers in the central region of Viseu, bordering Aveiro. Nine aircraft are helping more than 700 firefighters fighting a blaze near the region’s town of Castro de Rey.
Spain, Italy, France and Morocco have sent water bombers.
According to the European Forest Fire Information Service, the fires have burned more than 105,000 hectares (405 square miles) since Saturday, bringing the total to 140,000 hectares this year, the biggest since 2017. More than 100 people have died in Portugal in the biggest wildfires since two waves of devastating wildfires.
This is significantly higher than the annual average area of about 94,000 hectares between 2006 and 2023.
The Copernicus atmosphere monitoring service said total carbon emissions from Portugal’s fires reached a record high of 1.9 megatonnes by September 18, almost double the amount recorded for the same month in 2003, and smoke could reach western France in the coming days. It is possible to achieve this.
Authorities report that at least some of the dozens of arson attacks in Portugal were started by arsonists who may have been motivated by commercial gain, malice or criminal negligence. Police have arrested at least 14 people on suspicion of arson since Saturday.
