By Euronews
Published on
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More than 1,300 firefighters were deployed to battle three major forest fires in the areas of Arouca, Ponte de Barca and Penamacor, Portuguese authorities said Tuesday.
At least 900 officers have been sent to fight the strongest blazes in Ponte de Barca and Arouca, where fires have been burning since Monday afternoon. Another 400 have been deployed in Penamacor.
In Arouca, where fires are still active, authorities evacuated the village of Fornos de Carvão in the early hours of Tuesday morning after flames threatened to tear through residential buildings.
The Paiva Walkways — a popular trekking trail that runs along the banks of the River Paiva — is closed due to the blaze.
Authorities are struggling to contain a fire in Ponte da Barca that started on Saturday evening in the village of Lindoso. According to local media, firefighters were still working to stabilise the area at around 4 am CEST on Tuesday.
Efforts to control a fire burning in the Castelo Branco district in Penamacor were “going favourably”, according to the Beira Baixa Sub-regional Command, quoted by Lusa news agency. The fire, which started on Monday afternoon, was fanned by wind speeds of 3,500 metres per hour in the evening.
Authorities announced they aimed to bring the fire under control by Tuesday afternoon.
Another fire which broke out overnight in the central Portuguese town of Sever do Vouga was being fought by at least 87 personnel as of 7 am CEST Tuesday.
The fires come after authorities placed the majority of the country under yellow warning until at least Thursday following weeks of soaring temperatures.
The Setúbal district, close to the capital of Lisbon, is predicted to reach 40C on Tuesday, whilst Aveiro and Viana do Castelo are predicted to hit 29C. Temperatures in Castelo Branco threatened to climb to 36C.
