The firefighters of Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and Balkan countries were fighting forest fires on Tuesday (12), with another heat wave that raised temperatures to more than 40 ° C in parts of Europe.
Global warming is leaving the Mediterranean region with warmer and dried summers, according to scientists, and forest fires increase each year.
“We are being cooked alive, this cannot continue,” said a mayor of Portugal, Alexandre Favaios,
A fire killed a man who worked at a stable of horses and hit some houses and farms, but was controlled on Tuesday (12), according to the regional authorities.
More than 2,000 people were removed from tariffs on the coast of Spain, near, as the fire – which is believed to have started in Eucalyptus and Pinheiros forests – spread, according to authorities. Helicopters put out the fire with seawater.
In Albania and Montenegro, the authorities issued a heat wave warning, as temperatures arrived at 38ºC and 39ºC.
He issued heat alerts to most of the country on Monday (11), with temperatures forecast above 30ºC until Friday (15).
For 16 cities, while in France, the authorities declared red or orange weather alerts for much of the country.
In Spain, temperatures should reach 44ºC in some regions, according to the Aemet Meteorology Service. Minimal rainfall and wind conditions were expected to aggravate the risk.
Military aid from Spain
The Ministry of Interior of Spain has declared a “pre-emergency”, placing national services ready to support the fight against fires. Almost 1,000 members of the Armed Forces are already helping.
The largest region of Spain, Castela and León had 32 forest fires on Tuesday (12), with over 1,200 firefighters involved.
Five of the were classified as a direct threat to nearby populations. In León province, about 3,780 residents were removed, while more than 600 residents of seven cities in Zamora also received orders to leave their homes.
In northern Portugal, more than 1,300 firefighters, supported by 14 aircraft, were fighting three large fires. One of them, in the area of Vila Real, has been burning for 10 days.
The local mayor, Favaios, asked for more help from the government. “It was 10 days of extremely hard fight against the flames, 10 days when our population is panicked, not knowing when the fire will knock on their door,” he told the broadcaster RTP.
With two Portuguese aquatic bombing planes needing repairs, the authorities requested the help of Morocco on Monday, which sent two substitute planes.
A heat wave that brought temperatures of about 40 ° C to the north of Portugal last week showed signs of decrease on Tuesday (12), with the forecast of, according to the IPMA meteorological service.
Throughout the region of large extensions of forests and agricultural lands were burned by forest fires last week.
Tchéquia helicopters, Slovakia and helped the state of the Balkans contain 19, caused by strong winds on Tuesday (12).
In the neighboring Montenegro, the authorities supported by Serbia and Croatia helicopters contained a forest fire near the Podgoric capital on Tuesday, with the city covered by smoke.
Dragan resident Vukovic told Reuters, with the backdrop of the flames of her home: “Everything that can be paid and bought will be compensated, but the memories that burned in these four rooms and in the attic cannot be compensated.”
