More than 1,500 firefighters battle five major fires in Portugal

Lisbon.- More than 1,500 firefighters are battling five major fires in different parts of Portugal early this Tuesday, two of them near the border with Spain, according to data from the Portuguese National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection.

The two fires that are next to the border of Spain are the one in Ponte da Barca, which has 390 firefighters and 131 vehicles, and is near the border with Galicia, and the one in Penamacor, with 394 personnel and 139 vehicles, and near Extremadura.

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The fire with the most firefighters currently assigned is the one in Arouca, in the district of Aveiro, with 574 personnel and 178 support vehicles. Other fires have also been declared in Mangualde, in the district of Viseu, where 164 personnel have been deployed, supported by 46 vehicles, and in Ponte de Lima, in the district of Viana do Castelo, where there are 93 firefighters and 26 vehicles. Portugal's Civil Protection alerted yesterday, Monday, of the "very high to maximum" risk of forest fire in the north and central regions, as well as in the Algarve, in the south. According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, hot and dry weather is expected for the coming days, with an increase in temperatures, which may exceed 40°C and a relative humidity of the air below 30% in most of the territory. This prediction increases the risk of fire, with "favorable conditions" for fire and rapid spread, and greater difficulty in extinguishing it, especially in the north, central, and Algarve regions.