Around 50 fires are raging in northern and central Portugal. Roads have been cut off and houses have burned down. As the fires spread, several villages have been evacuated and schools have been closed.
The situation is out of control. We can't fight fires of this kind. There are no words to describe it, says a panicked resident in Medas outside Porto, where the flames are now just a few meters from the village, to the newspaper Correio da Manhã.
As much as 100,000 hectares may already have been consumed by the fire, according to Portuguese media. Since Wednesday, a "state of chaos" – one of the highest levels on Portugal's scale of emergency – has been declared in the hardest-hit areas. 200,000 people live in areas at risk of burning down, according to the EU's climate service Copernicus.
Several of the fires are described in Portuguese media as extremely difficult to control. The fire hazards are exacerbated by a heatwave coinciding with unusually low humidity and strong winds.
On Wednesday, neighboring country Spain sent 230 firefighters to help, reports Spanish EFE.
Portugal has doubled its budget for firefighting since the 2017 giant fires, which cost over 120 people their lives. According to experts, the Iberian Peninsula is particularly vulnerable to global warming, with recurring heatwaves and drought, writes AFP.
