Battling Infernos: Portugal's Firefighting Efforts Contain Raging Wildfires

Firefighters in Portugal have largely extinguished deadly wildfires in the Aveiro district after five days of destruction. Cooler temperatures have aided their efforts. The fires, burning over 105,000 hectares, have claimed seven lives. Arson is suspected in several cases, and 13 people have been arrested since Saturday.

Thousands of firefighters combating deadly wildfires in central and northern Portugal have mostly subdued the flames in the Aveiro district, one of the hardest-hit areas, by Thursday morning. Attention has shifted to a dozen blazes still active elsewhere.

Following five days of devastation that ravaged tens of thousands of hectares of forest and farmland, destroyed homes, and claimed seven lives, the fires in Oliveira de Azemeis, Albergaria-a-Velha, and Sever da Vouga are no longer listed as active on the civil protection service's fires portal. The firefighting efforts have been aided by cooler, more humid weather since Wednesday, which followed an unseasonably hot streak that fueled the blazes.

The weather agency IPMA forecasted maximum temperatures of 22-27 degrees Celsius on Thursday across the central and northern regions, significantly cooler than the previous days, which exceeded 30°C. On Wednesday, a 270-strong Spanish military emergencies team joined the effort to assist exhausted emergency workers in the central Vizeu district adjoining Aveiro. Up to 12 aircraft supported hundreds of firefighters fighting flames near Castro Daire.

European countries, including Spain, Italy, France, and Morocco, provided water-bombing aircraft. Data from the European Forest Fire Information Service indicated that large-scale blazes burned over 105,000 hectares (405 square miles) since Saturday, making this year's total of approximately 140,000 ha the largest burned area since 2017, when Portugal endured two catastrophic wildfire waves that killed over 100 people.

Authorities believe some of the dozens of fires across Portugal were ignited by arsonists, driven by potential commercial interests, spite, or criminal negligence. Police have arrested at least 13 suspects since Saturday. A case study titled 'Forest Fires in Portugal in 2017' by multiple authors, including those from the European Commission's joint research center, found that arson was responsible for nearly 36% of the deadly fires in October 2017, similar to negligent fire use.

(With inputs from agencies.)