EU Sends Back-up To Portugal To Fight Forest Fires
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published September 16, 2024 | 10:10 PM
Lisbon, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Sep, 2024) Portugal on Monday received pledges of support from its European partners as it battled northern forest fires that have injured a dozen firefighters, local authorities said.
A string of blazes that broke out over the weekend in the Aveiro region have injured 12 firefighters, including two seriously, and forced around 70 local residents to flee, according to the civil protection authority.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X, formerly Twitter, that four states were already responding after Portugal -- which owns about 30 water bomber planes and helicopters -- called on European countries to send reinforcements.
"We are urgently mobilising eight firefighting planes via our Civil Protection Mechanism to help local first responders. I thank France, Greece, Italy and Spain for their rapid reaction. This is EU solidarity at its best," said von der Leyen.
Around 2,300 were battling 26 fires on Monday, with the country placed on alert from Saturday to Tuesday evening because of high temperatures and strong winds.
The risk level varied from "very high" to "highest" depending on the region.
"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.
One firefighter died Sunday while taking a break from efforts to contain the fire near Oliveira de Azemeis, south of the city of Porto, the interior ministry said Monday.
Further to the south, at least two homes were burned in two villages in the Albergaria-a-Velha area, said mayor Antonio Loureiro.
"We already have houses in flames at the moment," he told Portuguese news agency Lusa.
Two other homes were destroyed in Cabeceiras de Basto, in the district of Braga, local authorities said.
Traffic has been halted on three motorways in the area, police said.
Drivers were told not to try to get to Aveiro.
"That is the best way to not to put lives at risk," said mayor Vitor Ribero.
Portugal has seen less 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 ten-fold and doubled the budget to fight wildfires since deadly blazes in 2017 claimed hundreds of lives.
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.
