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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 23 July 2019

Firefighters battle wildfire in Portugal, 32 people hurt

By BARRY HATTON are significantly bigger than
HELENA ALVES Portugal. Almost 11,500 fire-
Associated Press fighters are on standby this
COLOS, Portugal (AP) — year, most of them volun-
More than 1,000 firefighters teers. Volunteers are not
and 14 water-dropping air- uncommon in fire brigades
craft battled a major wild- in Europe, especially in
fire Monday amid scorch- Germany where more than
ing temperatures in Por- 90% are volunteers.
tugal, where forest blazes Experts and authorities
wreak destruction every have identified several fac-
summer. tors that make Portugal so
As temperatures reached particularly vulnerable to
almost 40 C (104 F) in the forest blazes. Addressing
afternoon, and a wind some of them is a long-
blew up, the blaze that term challenge.
had been largely con- The population of the Por-
tained overnight rekindled tuguese countryside has
in some areas. Huge pillars thinned as people have
of black smoke appeared moved to cities in search
on the horizon for a third of a better life. That means
straight day. woodland has become
Officials said cooler over- neglected, especially as
night temperatures had al- Fighters try to extinguish a wildfire near Cardigos village, in central Portugal on Sunday, July 21, many of those left behind
lowed authorities to bring 2019. are elderly, and the forest
under control about 90% of Associated Press debris is fuel for wildfires.
the fire area in the Castelo The Portuguese Civil Pro- many. European Union au- current wildfire. Pires sells Large areas of central and
Branco district, 200 kilome- tection Agency said the thorities have warned that to mainly Portuguese and northern Portugal are cov-
ters (about 125 miles) north- fire has injured 32 people, wildfires are “a growing German clients, but also to ered in dense, unbroken
east of the capital Lisbon. one seriously, as it raced menace” across the conti- Brazil and China. stretches of forest on hilly
But the Civil Protection through thick woodlands. nent. “(I lost) 100 out of 230 terrain. A lot of forest is pine
Agency kept its firefighting Police said they were inves- Huge wildfires have long (hives), so almost half,” Pires and eucalyptus trees, both
assets, including 318 ve- tigating what caused the been a summer fixture in said. “A lot of damage.” of which burn fiercely.
hicles, in the area to move fire amid suspicions it may Portugal. The country’s deadliest fire Environmentalists have
in quickly when they reig- have been started deliber- Residents of villages and season came in 2017, when urged the government
nited. ately. hamlets in central Portugal at least 106 people were to limit the area of euca-
The government said it had High temperatures were have grown accustomed killed. lyptus, which burns like a
asked for help from neigh- forecast for most of the to the summer blazes, The average annual area torch. But it is a very valu-
boring Spain, which was week in Portugal amid a which destroy fruit trees, charred by wildfires in Por- able crop for Portugal’s im-
sending two water-dump- spell of blistering weather olive trees and crops in the tugal between 2010 and portant paper pulp indus-
ing airplanes. They were that is due to hit northern fields. 2016 was just over 100,000 try, which last year posted
due to arrive later Monday. Europe later this week. In the hamlet of Colos, hectares (247,000 acres). sales worth 2.7 billion euros
Forests in the region are Recent weeks have also 50-year-old beekeeper An- That was more than in ($3 billion). The government
tinder-dry after weeks with seen major wildfires in tonio Pires said he had lost Spain, France, Italy or says it is introducing restric-
little rain. Spain, Greece and Ger- half of his beehives in the Greece — countries which tions gradually.q