Strong winds fan forest fire in Portuguese National Park near Spanish border
Strong winds fan forest fire in Portuguese National Park near Spanish border
23 April 2017
published by http://www.laht.com
Portugal – GUARDA, Portugal Storms and winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour early Thursday served to fan the flames of a forest fire in Portugals only national park.
The nations civil protection authority told EFE the fire affected a mountainous area in northern Portugal, and did not pose a risk to the population of the town of Lourido, near the border with Spains northwestern region of Galicia.
Working to quell the fire were 56 firefighters, 17 vehicles and a helicopter, which had to be withdrawn due to the strong bouts of wind.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park is the scene of forest fires every year, most of which are intentional.
Owing to weather conditions, there have been 21 recorded forest fires in recent hours, the majority in northern Portugal.
Civil protection has mobilized some 311 firefighters and about 100 vehicles in order to tackle them.