Portugal asks Europe for help as wildfires rage

LISBON: Portugal asked the EU to send it more fire-fighting planes on Monday as at least 15 blazes raged in central and northern regions, including one that burned houses on the outskirts of the town of Albergaria-a-Velha.

More than 800 firefighters were battling that fire and three others in the northwestern Aveiro district, where police shut motorways - including a stretch of the main highway between Lisbon and Porto - and evacuated several villages. Thick smoke blanketed the area.

Authorities said they had deployed eight water-bombing aircraft in that district. The government requested eight more aircraft from the European Commission under the EU civil protection mechanism known as RescEU.

Four are expected to arrive later in the afternoon, two from Spain and two from France, an Interior Ministry spokesperson told Reuters. The situation would likely get worse amid unusually dry conditions for the time of year and wind gusts of up to 70 kph (43 mph), national emergency and civil protection commander Andre Fernandes said.

He planned to maintain the current special red alert status across mainland Portugal. Albergaria-a-Velha Mayor Antonio Loureiro told reporters the fire had burned down four houses and was threatening 20 more as it raged in the industrial and residential perimeter of the town of around 25,000 people.

In total, officials said 1,500 firefighters were engaged across the country, where temperatures topped 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) over the weekend and were expected to stay high into Tuesday. Portugal and neighbouring Spain have recorded fewer fires than usual after a rainy start to the year.