Portugal battles deadly wildfires

Portugal has received pledges of support from European partners as it battles forest fires that have killed two people, authorities said.

About 5,000 firefighters battled 26 fires on Monday, with the country placed on alert from Saturday to Tuesday evening because of high temperatures and strong winds.

The string of blazes that broke out over the weekend in the northern Aveiro region has injured 12 firefighters, including two seriously, and forced about 70 residents to flee, according to the country’s civil protection authority.

A 28-year-old Brazilian man who worked for a forestry agency died after being caught in the flames as he tried to retrieve tools, police said according to Lusa News Agency.

A volunteer firefighter died of an apparent heart attack as he was eating on a break, the interior ministry said.

The fires have burned homes and halted traffic on several motorways. The risk levels have varied from “very high” to “highest”.

“The situation is not out of control, but it is very complex. Today will be a difficult day, and so will tomorrow,” said national civil protection commander Andre Fernandes.

Portugal has seen fewer wildfires than usual so far this year.

Some 10,300 hectares (25,500 acres) were lost to the flames by the end of August; a third of what was destroyed last year, and seven times less than the average over the last decade.

Lisbon has upped fire prevention funding tenfold and doubled the budget to fight wildfires since deadly blazes in 2017 killed hundreds of people.

Scientists say human-caused fossil fuel emissions are increasing the length, frequency and intensity of global heatwaves, raising the risk of wildfires.

The Iberian peninsula is particularly vulnerable to global warming, with heatwaves and drought exposing the region to blazes.