Share

Wildfires fanned by hurricane kill six in Spain, Portugal

Madrid - Three people have been killed in Portugal as the country is hit by a record number of forest fires, and three more have died in Spain where blazes sparked by arsonists have been fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Ophelia.

In total, about 440 fires were burning across Portugal on Sunday, which is "the worst day since the beginning of the year", according to a spokesperson for the national civil protection agency, Patricia Gaspar.

In addition to the three dead, about 25 people had been injured, she said, with thousands of firefighters deployed and three motorways, including one linking Lisbon and Porto, closed.

This year has also seen Portugal's worst ever fire in June near Pedrogao Grande in the centre of the country, which killed 64 people and injured 250.

The recent fires have been caused by "higher than average temperatures for the season and the cumulative effect of drought, which has been felt since the start of the year", Gaspar said.

Spain fires arson

In Spain, authorities were blaming arson for about 17 fires which have caused three deaths.

"They are absolutely intentional fires, premeditated, caused by people who know what they are doing," the head of the regional government, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, said.

Fifteen separate wildfires which posed a risk to built up areas were raging across the region of Galicia, he said.

The flames were being fanned by wind gusts of up to 90km/h as Hurricane Ophelia moved north off the coast of Spain towards Ireland, he told private broadcaster La Sexta.

"The situation is critical," he said.

Feijoo said "thousands" of firefighters, soldiers and locals were battling the blazes.

"We have not had a situation like this in the past decade. We have never deployed so many means at this time of the year," he said.

Five wildfires were raging near Vigo, Galicia's biggest city, forcing the evacuation of a shopping mall and a PSA Peugeot Citroen factory on the outskirts of the city.

The flames had reached O Castro, a large hilltop park in the heart of Vigo with sweeping views of the city's estuary, Spanish public television station TVE reported.

Buckets, pans of water

Images broadcast on Spanish TV showed local residents, their mouths and noses covered with handkerchiefs, battling the flames with buckets and pans of water.

The city of around 300 000 residents has opened up two sports centres and booked rooms in three hotels for people who were forced to evacuate their homes.

At least 10 schools cancelled classes on Monday in Vigo because of the flames, local officials said.

Spanish state-owned rail operator Renfe said it had cancelled a train linking Vigo to Barcelona because of the wildfires.

Several roads in Galicia were closed because of the flames, local officials said.

The national weather office is forecasting rain and cooler temperatures in Galicia beginning early on Monday which officials hope will help put out the flames.

Meteorologists say Ophelia is the most powerful hurricane recorded so far east in the Atlantic and the first since 1939 to travel so far north.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 399 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 568 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,011.50
+1.0%
Gold
2,221.35
+1.2%
Silver
24.87
+0.9%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE