File picture shows trees burning near Lagoaca, Portugal September 8, 2016. — Reuters pic
LISBON, July 21 — More than 800 firefighters battled today one wildfire sweeping across central Portugal after being able to control two other blazes that prompted authorities to partially evacuate a village and left one person with severe injuries, officials said.
Strong winds are making it tougher for firefighters to put out the wildfire although they have been able to control 60 per cent of the flames, which started on Saturday afternoon in Castelo Branco, a district 225 kilometres (139 miles) northeast of the capital Lisbon, and now also affects the Santarem district.
“We are ready for a difficult day,” Belo Costa, a Civil Protection official, told reporters. He added that no houses were currently at risk.
Eight airplanes along with 245 firefighters vehicles on the ground are also battling the blazes, as well as 20 soldiers and four bulldozers.
One village was partially evacuated as a precaution on early Sunday and one civilian was taken by helicopter to a Lisbon hospital with first and second degree burns. Seven firefighters were also injured and hospitalised.
All of the injured, except the one in a serious condition, have been discharged, Portugal’s medical service said.
One of the two districts affected, Castelo Branco, is under yellow alert as temperatures are expected to reach 31 degrees Celsius on Sunday, according to the national meteorological agency.
Ricardo Aires, the mayor of Vila de Rei, one of the affected municipalities, told Portugal’s public broadcaster RTP that firefighters and resources were lacking.
The Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said in a statement that he is following the situation closely and sent solidarity to those affected.
In June 2017, a devastating wildfire in the central town of Pedrogao Grande killed 64 people and injured more than 250. The fire was the worst disaster in modern Portuguese history. — Reuters