Smoke, dust and ash everywhere you look: Portugal has been spared from forest fires this year – until now. But for a few days the Portuguese forests have been ablaze with fire. At least in the center and in the north. Civil protection reported 36 forest fires for Monday alone. The reason is a heat wave that swept the country over the weekend. The average temperature of 40 degrees should last at least until Thursday. The country had previously suffered from a drought. Because of the increased risk of forest fires, campfires and fireworks were banned, and staying in forests was restricted.
Before the weekend, the first fires were raging in the Ourém region north of Lisbon and in the municipality of Pombal. The former is one of the largest fires and was brought under control by 600 emergency services on Monday morning. But the flames still caused considerable damage. Seven firefighters and a police officer were reportedly slightly injured. In addition, 35 people – mostly residents of the region – had to be treated on site because of the smoke.
Portugal in state of emergency
The fire in Pombal was also contained on Monday. However, 3,000 emergency services are still on duty there to prevent the fire from flaring up again. According to the civil defense website, there were no other major fires on Monday.
Because of the persistently high temperatures, the government has continued to put rescue workers on alert and declared the third highest state of emergency. According to initial estimates, the fires have destroyed 2,000 to 2,500 hectares of forest. This corresponds to an area of around 2800 to 3500 football pitches.