Firefighters help put out a forest fire near Macao, Portugal, on July 22, 2019.More than 1,000 firefighters and 14 water-dropping aircraft battled a major wildfire Monday amid scorching temperatures in Portugal, where forest blazes wreak destruction every summer.
The government said it had asked for help from neighbouring Spain, which was sending two water-dumping airplanes. They were due to arrive later Monday.The Portuguese Civil Protection Agency said the fire has injured 32 people, one seriously, as it raced through thick woodlands. Recent weeks have also seen major wildfires in Spain, Greece and Germany. European Union authorities have warned that wildfires are “a growing menace” across the continent.Huge wildfires have long been a summer fixture in Portugal.
Almost 11,500 firefighters are on standby this year, most of them volunteers. Volunteers are not uncommon in fire brigades in Europe, especially in Germany where more than 90 per cent are volunteers. Large areas of central and northern Portugal are covered in dense, unbroken stretches of forest on hilly terrain. A lot of forest is pine and eucalyptus trees, both of which burn fiercely.
After the 2017 deaths, the government introduced a raft of measures. They included using goats and bulldozers to clear woodland 10 metres either side of country roads. Property owners also have to clear a 50-meter radius around an isolated house, and 100 metres around a hamlet.
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