Officials in Portugal have said the wildfires that had been raging in the middle of the country since the weekend are now under control. Sixty-four people have died and more than 200 have been left injured by the blaze.
Image: Reuters/R. Marchante
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Portugal's civil protection agency said on Thursday that it had brought under control two giant blazes that killed dozens of people and burnt out large parts of the middle of the country.
Carlos Tavares, the civil protection official leading the operations, confirmed that the wildfire spreading through Gois, located about 150 kilometers (95 miles) north of Lisbon, had been contained. A day earlier, on Wednesday, he announced that the fire at Pedrogao Grande, located about 20 kilometers away, was under control.
Some 2,400 firefighters and over 20 water-dropping aircraft had been fighting the fierce fires since Saturday. Shifting winds and temperatures exceeding 40 C (104 F) saw the deadly blazes rage on for days. The two fires blackened about 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) of woodland.
After days of sweltering temperatures, both areas are expected to be cooler over the coming days, with temperatures dropping to just under 30C.
However, Tavares urged caution, warning that some fires could resume. Hundreds of fire fighters remained on standby.
A raging forest fire in central Portugal has claimed more than 50 lives so far. Several EU states have offered their assistance to overcome what is being considered the deadliest-ever single forest blaze in the country.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. De Melo Moreira
Worst forest fire in decades
In televised comments, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has described raging forest fires in central Portugal as "the greatest tragedy of human lives that we've witnessed in our country in years." He was headed to the site on Sunday. Earlier on Saturday night, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited the site and expressed his condolences for the dozens of fire victims.
Image: REUTERS
Probable cause - a lightning strike
The head of Portugal’s national judicial police said that a lightning strike on Saturday appeared to be the most probable cause of the blaze in the central Pedrogao Grande area. Investigators found a tree that was hit during a "dry thunderstorm." Such storms are frequent when falling water evaporates before reaching the ground because of high temperatures.
Image: Getty Images/T. Shaw
Hundreds of firefighters involved
The Portuguese government has sent two army battalions to help the emergency services in Pedrogao Grande, which is located almost 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of the capital, Lisbon. Thousands of firefighters and more than 200 fire engines are busy tackling the flames. As of Monday morning, the fire was still highly active, with thousands battling it on four separate fronts.
Image: picture.alliance/dpa/A.Franca
EU & member states provide assistance
The European Union, along with several member states, has come forward to provide assistance. France, Spain and Italy were to send more water-dropping planes Monday as part of the cooperation program. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also spoke to the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonia Costa and offered Germany's assistance.
Image: Imago/ITAR-TASS/M. Pochuyev
A moment of silence in the Vatican
Pope Francis led thousands of people in a moment of silent prayer held for the victims of fire in Portugal. He referred to it as the "devastating fire" at the end of his Sunday prayer, delivered from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square.
Image: Reuters/M. Rossi
Portugal - a country prone to forest fires
A woman protects herself from the smoke produced by a forest fire in Pampilhosa da Serra, Portugal. The country was hit by a series of such fires last year which devastated more than 1,000 square kilometers. Fires on the tourist island of Madeira in August killed three people. Over the whole year of 2016, around 40 homes were destroyed and 5,400 hectares (13, 344 acres) of land burned out.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
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Source of fire disputed
On Wednesday, the president of Portugal's League of Fire Fighters, Jaime Marta Soares, said he believed the fire was started intentionally, contradicting earlier reports from officials.
Police chief Almeida Rodrigues had initially ruled out arson as the cause of the wildfire, first saying that it was likely caused by a tree hit by lightning, and then by dry thunderstorms.
However, Marta Soares told local media that the fire had already been burning for two hours before the storm started on Saturday. "I believe, until there is evidence to the contrary... that the fire was of criminal origin," he said.
Press reports also suggested that Portugal's fire plans had not been revised for years, despite the country having an annual wildfire season. Meanwhile, locals questioned why first responders had not been more quick to seal off the stretch of road where most of the victims eventually died.
