Spain, Portugal and wildfire
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16hon MSN
Wildfires in Spain and Portugal force evacuations and deployment of thousands of emergency personnel
A heatwave is continuing to affect the Iberian Peninsula. Thousands of firefighters have been deployed to battle ongoing blazes and towns have been evacuated. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited affected regions to meet with the heads of emergency teams.
Thousands of firefighters worked overnight to contain dozens of deadly wildfires burning across Spain and Portugal as heat and gusty winds spread blazes through dry brush, forests and crops.
This year is turning into one of the worst fire seasons in recent memory in Europe. Firefighters are struggling to contain out-of-control wildfires in western Spain and Portugal.
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Al Jazeera on MSN‘Flames that consumed the hills’: Portugal, Spain reel from wildfires
Emergency services are under strain due to the ‘worst’ fires in Portugal in years, Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego says.
Spain's weather agency warned the public on Monday to be "cautious" of the "very high or extreme fire danger."
Firefighters in Spain, Portugal and Greece battled ongoing wildfires Friday, an important religious holiday in all three countries, as persistent hot, dry conditions challenged efforts to contain the blazes.
More than 343,000 hectares of land – the equivalent of nearly half a million football pitches – destroyed this year in Spain, in new record.
Spain's worst wave of wildfires on record spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountains on Monday and prompted authorities to close part of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.