Portugal Requests EU Assistance as Wildfires Rage Across Central and Northern Regions

Portugal has requested more fire-fighting planes from the EU as 15 wildfires rage in central and northern regions. Over 800 firefighters are combating the fires, with several villages evacuated. Authorities have deployed eight water-bombing aircraft and requested eight more. The situation is critical amid dry conditions and high winds.

Portugal has asked the European Union for additional fire-fighting planes as 15 wildfires continue to rage across its central and northern regions, including one burning on the outskirts of Albergaria-a-Velha.

More than 800 firefighters are battling multiple fires in the northwestern Aveiro district, prompting police to shut motorways, including a key stretch of highway between Lisbon and Porto, and evacuate several villages. The area is heavily blanketed in smoke.

Authorities have deployed eight water-bombing aircraft in the district and have requested eight more from the European Commission under the RescEU mechanism. Four additional aircraft are expected later today from Spain and France, according to an Interior Ministry spokesperson. National emergency and civil protection commander Andre Fernandes warned of worsening conditions due to unseasonably dry weather and wind gusts of up to 70 kph (43 mph).

In Albergaria-a-Velha, Mayor Antonio Loureiro reported that the fire had destroyed four houses and threatened 20 more. A special red alert status is maintained across mainland Portugal. With temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), officials said 1,500 firefighters are engaged nationwide. Despite fewer fires earlier in the year, Portugal and Spain remain vulnerable to increasingly hot, dry conditions attributed to global warming.

(With inputs from agencies.)