Portugal Forest Fires Out Of Control - Smoke Visible From Outer Space

[hatrack]

High temperatures and dry weather are hampering efforts to extinguish a host of wildfires across Portugal. Some blazes have been brought under control, but a string of villages and the ancient city of Coimbra remain threatened by about a dozen fires.

Villagers returning to their homes have described how fires tore through some 140,000 hectares and destroyed homes. A summer of drought has sparked fires across southern Europe, with Spain and France also fighting flames. At least 15 people have died in Portugal this year from fires, often started deliberately in bone-dry countryside forests.

Four people, including one former firefighter, were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of arson, police said. A total of 102 people have been held this year. Central and northern Portugal have been hit the worst, and fires are still threatening the outskirts of the third-largest city of Coimbra.

EDIT

It was unclear whether Portugal would be eligible for cash payments under the European Union solidarity fund, made available in cases of natural disaster. The EU suggested Portugal would be eligible, although the country's agriculture minister said the fires had not caused enough damage. Firefighting aircraft from France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, joined the efforts against the fires on Tuesday, answering a call to help from Portugal, which does not maintain a fleet of water-carrying planes.

EDIT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4175922.stm

[damntexdem]

1. Wow, after 400 years ...

Portugal finally gets noticed again.