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Portugal: Violent fires kill seven people
Portugal: Violent fires kill seven people
(France 2)
Heat and strong winds are fanning wildfires in northern and southern Portugal. Provisional toll: at least seven dead, many injured and dozens of homes evacuated. Nearly 5,000 firefighters have been mobilized.
All day Tuesday, September 17, the Canadairs flew in rotation after rotation. Faced with the violence of the fire, there was no respite. A plane came from Spain as reinforcements. “We don’t have enough resources”laments a man. Even the firefighters seem discouraged by the situation.
On the fourth day of fighting the fires that are raging throughout the northern half of Portugal, 160 fires were recorded on Monday, September 16. During the night, the fire gained ground. Fanned by strong winds, it became uncontrollable and threatens new localities. When he woke up, a resident filmed from afar the thick smoke, transformed into a wall of flames at the gates of his neighborhood. The fire is spreading but the residents are trying to slow its advance by weeding around the houses. The fight is unequal against the flames. 15,000 hectares have burned. The maximum state of fire alert runs until Thursday evening, September 19.