The heat has reached Portugal and, with it, the wildfires, with the Vouzela blaze currently causing most concern for the authorities and local communities. International assistance has already arrived and is on the ground.
Two Canadair water-bombers from Italy and 118 firefighters, accompanied by 45 vehicles from Spain, are, for now, the response to Portugal’s request for help, after it activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism on Friday. Morocco is also expected to send resources under bilateral civil-protection agreements concluded with Spain and Morocco.
In the last 24 hours, nine people have been reported injured, two of them seriously, according to a report released by the National Authority for Civil Protection (ANEPC), which has placed the country under an alert situation across the entire mainland between 3 and 6 July.
The resources that arrived in Portugal in the early hours of Saturday are concentrated on the Vouzela fire, which has been spreading since Wednesday, at a time when the country is facing intense heat with temperatures expected to reach 44 °C in some areas.
The 120 firefighters and 45 Spanish support vehicles are already assisting Portuguese crews in fighting this blaze, and the aerial resources from Spain and Italy are expected to "begin operating on Sunday", the European Commission’s spokesperson told RTP - Antena 1 (source in Portuguese).
"Europe stands with Portugal and its citizens, who once again are facing devastating forest fires", wrote the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on social media as she confirmed the arrival of European assistance.
The fire that broke out in Vouzela, in the district of Viseu, has already consumed 11,000 hectares as of 16:00 on Saturday (source in Portuguese). According to the ANEPC portal, at 16:00 on Saturday 1,238 firefighters, supported by 411 vehicles and six aircraft were battling the Vouzela fire.
The Portuguese government has introduced special measures, including a ban on access to forests and restrictions on the use of certain types of machinery in rural areas.
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