Monchique: Wildfires scorched a path towards more villages in Portugal’s southern Algarve region on Wednesday as a reprieve from the country’s sweltering heatwave saw firefighters intensify their battle against the blaze menacing one of Europe’s top tourist destinations.
Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers have used aircraft to scoop water from the sea at nearby beach resorts in their days-long struggle to douse flames spreading around the mountain spa town of Monchique.
Sweltering temperatures and strong winds kindled blazes that have whipped across the region as the Europe-wide heatwave sent the mercury above 45 degrees Celsius (1130 Fahrenheit) in some areas of Portugal at the weekend.
The fires have left 32 people injured, one seriously, and forced hundreds from their homes as the flames encircled urban areas in the popular holiday region, while British and other tourists were evacuated over the weekend from a luxury hotel in Monchique.
Images released by the European Space Agency appear to show that the fire — which began on Friday in the eucalyptus and pine forests in the hills on Monchique — is visible from the International Space Station.
But with calmer winds, higher air humidity levels and lower temperatures on Wednesday, civil protection service spokeswoman Patricia Gaspar said firefighters had a “window of opportunity” to finally gain control of the blaze.
“We have a more stable situation at the moment and we are doing all we can, with all available means, to dominate this fire as quickly as possible,” she told a Lisbon news conference. Temperatures in Monchique were forecast to reach a high of 240 C.
One front of the blaze was moving steadily towards the town of Silves, which is just 10 kilometres inland and there were fears that it could spread towards the coastal city of Portimao, which is popular with British and German tourists. Ash from the fire had covered cars in the nearby beach resort of Praia da Luz, according to Dutch tourist Maud van Zanten.
The 42-year-old, who is on holiday with her family in the town, said people in the area “were a bit concerned.”
Firefighters criticised the lack of coordination, while Prime Minister Antonio Costa was due to visit the firefighter command centre in Lisbon on Wednesday after drawing flak on social media for remaining on holiday as the flames raged. — AFP
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