Swathes of Portugal again declared under 'maximum risk' for wildfires

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - The Portugal's meteorological agency on Monday elevated the risk of wildfires to the "maximum" level for more than 100 municipalities in the country.

With scorching temperatures, around half of continental Portugal is dealing with these tinderbox conditions, while the vast majority of the rest of the country is designated to be at an "elevated" or "very elevated" risk level, according to IPMA.

Three fires that started over the weekend remain burning and out of control in the north of the country. Andre Fernandes, commander of the civil protection agency, told reporters on Monday that controlling those blazes would be "difficult" due to high temperatures and shifting winds.

In the last three days alone, authorities detected and extinguished around 215 other wildfires.

Meanwhile, Portuguese officials said they would declare a "state of calamity" for the Serra da Estrela Natural Park, which has seen around 25% of its area affected by five major wildfires this summer.

The latest fire in the park, which injured several people, was eventually controlled last week. Authorities are now evaluating the fires' impact on the area's unique flora and fauna.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also said on Monday that his government would officially declare all areas of Spain affected by large wildfires this summer as "catastrophe zones," a designation that helps mobilize financial resources.

According to Sanchez, this has been Spain's hottest summer since record-keeping began in 1961, with more than 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) of Spanish territory left scorched.

At the same time, more than 270,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in recent months due to the fires.

"Unfortunately, science says that the next summers will be even hotter," said Sanchez, speaking from a scene of ashes and blackened trees left behind from a wildfire that consumed nearly 20,000 hectares in Valencia last week.