Portugal And Spain Step Up Containment Efforts As Wildfires Rage

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Hundreds of firefighters continue their efforts to extinguish wildfires in Portugal and Spain, following a summer marked by drought and widespread fires.

In Portugal, the largest fire broke out in the Seia region in central Portugal, where more than 600 firefighters were deployed to combat the blaze, which was fueled by strong winds and led to the closure of several roads.

A Civil Protection spokesperson told the Portuguese news agency Lusa that the priority was to protect homes, while police announced the arrest of a person suspected of starting the fire.

In Spain, authorities took precautionary measures in the village of Castromil in the northwest after a new fire broke out nearby. A previous fire was rekindled by strong winds, according to environmental authorities in the Castile and León region.

Last week, Spain lifted a weeks-long state of emergency due to one of the worst fires the country has seen in recent years, which killed four people and ravaged more than 300,000 hectares.

In Portugal, fires that swept through the center and north in August killed four people and destroyed approximately 254,000 hectares, marking the worst toll since 2017, according to data from the National Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.

According to the National Meteorological Agency, Portugal experienced its hottest and driest summer this year since 1931, which has exacerbated the risk of wildfires.

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