Portugal Struggles To Control Huge Blaze In Natural Park

More than 1,200 firefighters struggled Wednesday to control a huge forest fire in Portugal's Serra da Estrela park, which resumed just days after being brought under control

Orjais, Portugal, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Aug, 2022 ) :More than 1,200 firefighters struggled Wednesday to control a huge forest fire in Portugal's Serra da Estrela park, which resumed 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.

It is still posing a sizeable challenge even if "90 percent of this fire's perimeter is now under control", said civil protection agency head Andre Fernandes.

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, too.

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, burning up 10,000 hectares of land and forcing 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.