Portugal fires: Tourists flee Odemira as wildfires spreads to Algarve in 46C heat

Hundreds of tourists have scrambled to evacuate their holiday resorts in Portugal as a wildfire inferno ripped across the country during a new 46C heatwave.

The wildfire started on Saturday in the municipality of Odemira, in the Alentejo region, but it has since spread south towards the Algarve, one of Portugal’s most popular tourist destinations.

Around 1,400 people have now been evacuated as hundreds of firefighters battle the intense blaze, nine of whom have been injured. Blockades have also been put in place across several roads, with over 100 tourists scrambling out of their hotels to safety across tourist sites in Odemira.

Odemira’s mayor, Helder Guerreiro, called the situation “critical, difficult and complex” while Civil Protection commander Jose Ribeiro said there was a “lot of work” ahead to bring the wildfire under control.

“The weather conditions we are going to experience in the coming days means any small occurrence (fire) could become a big one,” Civil Protection secretary of state Patricia Gaspar told a news conference.

The UK’s Met Office has also issued information on the weather in Spain, Portugal and Africa as wildfires rage across some of Portugal’s most popular tourist hotspots.

“Temperatures have increased across Spain, Portugal and North Africa in recent days, widely into the mid 30s C, if not into the low to mid 40s C”, the national forecaster tweeted. “The heat is expected to extend further north and east by midweek, before temperatures return closer to average by the weekend.”

As of Monday, Portugal’s minister of internal administration confirmed that “for now” the government will not declare an alert.

Hundreds of firefighters are battling wildfires in Portugal where 1,400 people have been evacuated in a 46C heatwave.

The wildfire started on Saturday in the Odemira region on the west coast but it has since spread south towards the tourist hotspot of the Algarve.

Nine have reportedly been injured as a result of the fire.

My colleague William Mata has the full report:

Millions of people in parts of Portugal and Spain have opted to remain indoors on the second day of the heatwave sweeping the Iberian Peninsula.

In Portugal, authorities declared some 120 municipalities in the north and central areas of the country’s interior, as well as in the popular holiday destination of Algarve in the south, at maximum risk of wildfires due to the scorching heat.

Weather agency IPMA also put three districts in the northeast on red alert for high temperatures.

On Monday, temperatures in the central towns of Portalegre and Santarem broke five-year local records at 42.1C and 46.4C, the latter just short of the national record of 47.3C set in August 2003.

In Lisbon, residents and tourists saw some respite as temperatures dropped to 31C from Monday’s more than 41C, and were expected to remain around that level for the next few days. In Madrid, visitors waiting in line to enter the Prado museum were sprayed with water by employees.

Spain is faring better with its wildfires this week despite the high temperatures of the country’s third heatwave this summer.

Officials said three fires that started over the weekend have been brought under control or had been extinguished Tuesday. The biggest blaze, in the northeast, burned about 1,500 acres and required the evacuation of 150 people.

The only fire still out of control in Spain is in the southwest near the Portuguese border. Some 20 people in two rural hostels were evacuated. Strong winds were reported to be complicating firefighting efforts.

Temperatures will continue to rise at least until Friday, with some areas of the southern Andalusia region hitting 44C, Spain’s weather agency said.

An unprecedented two-year drought has led to water restrictions in parts of Spain, and the country’s ecological transition ministry said on Tuesday that reservoirs nationally were at 41 per cent of their capacity owing to high temperatures and the severe lack of rain.

More than 1,000 firefighters are now said to be battling fires both in Portugal and over the border in Spain.

Three major fires raged in Portugal on Tuesday, with the biggest in the southwest near the town of Odemira, where on Monday about 1,400 people were evacuated from villages and a campsite as a precaution. They were gradually returning home on Tuesday.

The National Civil Protection Service said about 1,000 firefighters, 320 vehicles and nine aircraft were deployed at that fire on Tuesday. It has so far scorched around 17,300 acres.

Bulldozers are reportedly being used as a means to build fire breaks and prevent the blaze from spreading further.

Emergency and civil protection authority commander Andre Fernandes has said villages such as Monchique – locally famous for its springs and hotels – are being evacuated.

Monchique, which last burned in 2018, is one of 20 villages, four tourist accommodations and a camping site have been evacuated as a precaution. Several roads have also been blocked off.

There are currently several wildfires burning across Portugal but Odemira is the most worrying, Mr Fernandes said.

Lisbon has been placed under red alert – with temperatures expected to reach 41C in the city of Castelo Branco.

Windy.com on Twitter showed a graphic with the central regions of Portugal to be most affected by the heat.

Authorities say more than 120 Portuguese municipalities, including in Lisbon, Alentejo and Algarve, are at maximum risk of wildfires.

“The weather conditions we are going to experience in the coming days means any small occurrence (fire) could become a big one,” Civil Protection secretary of state Patricia Gaspar told a news conference.

A map projection is showing how the wildfires are ripping through Portugal and also Italy.

Portugal is facing wildfires raging across the south of the country, with more than 850 firefighters battling to put out the flames. The first wildfire started in the municipality of Odemira, in the Alentejo region on Saturday, but it has since spread south towards the Algarve.

Elsewhere, in Italy, wildfires have been spreading across the island of Sardinia.