Officials said a massive forest fire in Portugal was "under control" after raging for days, but more than 1,000 firefighters were still battling to keep it contained Thursday.

The huge fire in the Serra da Estrela national park in central Portugal was brought under control last week, only to restart again Monday.

More than 25,000 hectares (nearly 61,800 acres) of land is estimated to have been scorched by the fire in the UNESCO-listed park, home to diverse wildlife species including wildcats and lizards.

An official said late Wednesday the blaze was contained, but warned it could flare up again.

"The fire is under control, but it is not extinguished. Consolidation work will continue in the coming days," civil protection commander Miguel Oliveira told TSF radio.

"It is always possible, and very likely, that there will be new reactivations, but we hope that they do not take on worrying proportions," he said.

Portugal's National Civil Protection Authority said more than 1,000 firefighters were still mobilised around the Serra da Estrela blaze Thursday.

Weather forecasts are predicting a fresh heatwave on Saturday, the latest in a string of hot spells in Portugal this year. July was the hottest on record in nearly a century.

Interior Minister Jose Luis Carneiro said Wednesday "we will experience increased risks" of fires in the coming days due to hot and dry conditions.

Since the start of the year, some 92,000 hectares have burned in Portugal, in the worst fires since 2017 when around 100 people were killed.

Experts say climate change driven by human activity is boosting the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts and wildfires.

Portugal, Spain struggle to control forest fires
Firefighters in Spain and Portugal were battling on Wednesday to control multiple forest fires across the Iberian Peninsula with blazes in the Serra da Estrela park resuming just days after being brought under control.

Strong winds have been hampering attempts to combat the spread of the fire, one of 195 that have ravaged some 92,000 hectares of land across Portugal this year amid record temperatures.

The fire in the UNESCO-designated park restarted Tuesday after being brought under control five days earlier, and is estimated to have already consumed around 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres) of land.

More than 1,200 firefighters remained on the ground in response to the threat backed up by eight fire-fighting aircraft.

Authorities had declared some 90 percent of the park under control by midday, but fire crews are now working to "consolidate" the blaze, fire brigade commander Miguel Cruz said at a briefing.

A firefighter involved in tackling a separate blaze in central Caldas da Rainha died of a heart attack, officials said.

July proved to be Portugal's hottest in nearly a century, with the country battling its worst forest fires since 2017 when around 100 lives were lost.

Scientists say human-induced climate change is contributing to extreme weather events, including wildfires and heatwaves.

Neighbouring Spain has also been battling a wave of forest fires in recent weeks following soaring temperatures there.

The eastern Valencia region is struggling with two major blazes, one in Bejis, 70 kilometres (45 miles) northwest of Valencia city, which began Monday and has grown rapidly. It burnt up 10,000 hectares of land and forced the evacuation of 1,500 people, regional officials say.

But the weather offered some respite some 200 kilometres further south when a storm broke over the Vall de Ebo where hundreds more firefighters have been tackling another major blaze since Saturday.

As rain and hail pummelled the area where the flames have devastated more than 11,000 hectares, all 30 aerial firefighting teams were grounded, although it raised hopes the wet weather could dampen the surging flames.

- Portugal's largest conservation area -

In Portugal, the Serra da Estrela fire started on August 6 outside the central town of Covilha with authorities deploying 390 fire engines and 14 planes and helicopters in efforts to control it.

Firefighters, who hope to keep the fire from spreading further before temperatures rise again on Friday, have thrown a 160-kilometre cordon around the area.

Residents in Orjais village in the foothills of the mountain range helped fight back the flames which came dangerously close to their homes.

"It was chaos", Fatima Cardoso, 62, told AFP.

Authorities are concerned about the impact of the fire on wildlife, as Serra da Estrela is Portugal's largest natural conservation area known for its diverse wildlife, including wildcats and lizards.

"We have not yet reached the end of this critical period for fires," Interior Minister Jose Luis Carneiro warned after meeting with meteorologists.

The upcoming heatwave is forecast to last into September, which Carneiro said was set to be drier and hotter than usual.

26 dead as forest fires spread in north Algeria
Algiers (AFP) Aug 17, 2022 - At least 26 people died and dozens of others were injured in forest fires that ravaged 14 districts of northern Algeria on Wednesday, the interior minister said.

Kamel Beldjoud told state television that 24 people lost their lives in fires in El Tarf, near the border with Tunisia, in addition to two others who died earlier in Setif.

Emergency services in Setif had said that two women, "a 58-year-old mother and her 31-year-old daughter", were killed in the town.

In Souk Ahras, further to the east near Algeria's border with Tunisia, people were seen fleeing their homes as fires spread before firefighting helicopters were deployed.

An earlier toll said four people in Souk Ahras suffered burns and 41 others had breathing difficulties, the authorities said. Media reports said 350 residents had been evacuated.

No updated toll was given on the number of people injured in the fires in other areas.

According to television station Ennahar, around fifty people were taken to hospital in El Tarf, a town with a population of around 100,000.

The gendarmerie has closed several roads as a result of the fires.

"Thirty-nine fires are underway in 14 districts," the emergency services said, noting that El Tarf was the worst hit, with 16 fires in progress.

- Water bombers -

Helicopters used suspended buckets to drop water on fires in three areas, including Souk Ahras.

Algeria chartered a Russian water bomber plane, but it had broken down and will not be working again until Saturday, Beldjoud said.

The fires have reopened a debate over concerns there are not enough water bombers in the country.

According to the Mena Defense website, the Algerian authorities cancelled a contract with a Spanish company for the supply of seven water bomber planes following Algeria's diplomatic fall out with Madrid earlier this year.

No action has been taken to replace the Spanish planes, which were set to be supplied by Air Nostrum subsidiary Plysa, according to local media.

Since the start of August, 106 fires have broken out in Algeria, destroying more than 2,500 hectares of woodland.

Beldjoud said some of the fires were started by people.

Wednesday's toll brings the total number of people killed in wildfires this summer up to 30.

Algeria is Africa's largest country but it only has 4.1 million hectares (10.1 million acres) of forest.

Each year the north of the country is affected by forest fires, a problem that has worsened due to climate change.

Last year, at least 90 people died in forest fires that ravaged northern Algeria, destroying more than 100,000 hectares of woodland.

Related Links
Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology

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