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Portuguese firefighters get upper hand over major wildfires but remain on high alert
Original Publication Date: September 4, 2012 2:37AM
Publication Updated: January 9, 2025 4:58AM
LISBON, Portugal – Portugal’s Civil Protection Service says firefighters have extinguished two major forest blazes that raced across thick woodland for more than 30 hours and claimed the life of one person.
But emergency services remained on high alert nationwide amid a forecast of continuing hot temperatures and strong winds in the drought-stricken country.
The Civil Protection Service said on its website around 800 firefighters were deployed at nine wildfires in northern Portugal early Tuesday.
On Monday, more than 7,300 firefighters and almost 2,000 vehicles attended 289 major forest blazes.
The largest outbreak was in Ourem, near Leiria, where a blaze that started midday Sunday killed a 54-year-old farmer. That fire was brought under control in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
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