Firefighters battle a wild fire raging near houses in the outskirts of Obidos, Portugal, in the early hours of Monday. Photo / AP
Firefighters battle a wild fire raging near houses in the outskirts of Obidos, Portugal, in the early hours of Monday. Photo / AP
A spate of wildfires in Portugal has killed at least 32 people, including a one-month-old infant, authorities said yesterday, making this year by far the deadliest on record for forest blazes in the country.
In neighbouring Spain, wildfires also killed at least four people and prompted the evacuation of thousands in the northwest region of Galicia, as the remnants of winds from Hurricane Ophelia fanned the flames along Iberia's Atlantic coast.
People push a van that got stuck bringing water for volunteers to fight a wild fire raging near houses in the outskirts of Obidos, Portugal. Photo / AP
The late-season fires returned to Portugal four months after a summer blaze claimed 64 lives in one night. This year's current total of 96 deaths is far higher than the previous annual record of 25, in 1966.
A one-month-old baby was among the dead, the Civil Protection Agency said yesterday. It was found near Tabua, some 200 kilometres north of Lisbon, and the bodies of its parents reportedly were found nearby. Officials did not provide further details.
More than 50 people were injured, 15 of them seriously, and nine people were reported missing in the blazes that broke out over the weekend, according to the Civil Protection Agency.
People watch a wildfire raging near houses in the outskirts of Obidos, Portugal yesterday. Photo / AP
More than 5300 firefighters with more than 1600 vehicles were still battling the fires through dense pine and eucalyptus forests yesterday.
Portugal endures widespread forest blazes every summer. Most fires are set deliberately, officials say, and spread quickly due to poor forest management which leaves debris that fuels fires.
Emergency services recorded 523 wildfires on Sunday, the highest number in a single day this year and the highest on one day in more than a decade. "You don't see that in any other country in the world," said Civil Protection Agency spokeswoman Patricia Gaspar.
A prolonged drought has made the calamity worse this year.
"We have all our firefighters out there doing everything they can," said Home Affairs Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa, who is in charge of emergency services and has been the target of criticism for her handling of the tragedy.
A dog moves among the debris of a burnt warehouse near Penacova, northern Portugal. At least 32 people have been killed in the fires so far. Photo / AP
She said climate change has brought an additional factor into the battle against woodland fires. Due to climate change, "large-scale catastrophes are now a reality all over the world," Urbano de Sousa said. That meant more effort has to be put into preventive measures, she said.
Spain's prime minister focused on criminal intent, and said authorities were certain the fires were caused by arsonists.
"What we are seeing here doesn't happen accidentally. This has been induced," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who is from Galicia, said during a visit to a Galician fire department.
Officials in both countries said they expected that rain and cooler weather forecast for later Monday would help put out the fires.
