RTL Today - Wildfires : Portugal records first fire fatality as Spain hits maximum alert

The Iberian Peninsula is battling devastating wildfires. Portugal has reported its first victim, while Spain, already mourning three deaths, remains on high alert as blazes continue to spread.

Portugal’s president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa confirmed on Friday the death of former Guarda mayor Carlos Dâmaso, killed while trying to fight a fire in his community. The head of state cut short his holidays to join a crisis meeting with the National Authority for Civil Protection.

Several thousand firefighters have been mobilised across Portugal, a country still traumatised by the 2017 wildfires that killed over 100 people. Lisbon has requested EU support, including four Canadair planes to remain in the country until 18 August.

Spain has already recorded three deaths linked to this year’s fires, including two volunteers killed in Castile and León. Much of the country has sweltered under nearly two weeks of extreme heat, with record-high temperatures now extending to the previously cooler Cantabria region. The national weather service Aemet has issued "very high to extreme" fire risk alerts through Monday.

Since January, 157,500 hectares have burned in Spain. Already one of the worst fire seasons in recent years, though below the 306,000 hectares lost in 2022. Local residents in rural areas describe feelings of "helplessness" as flames destroy homes, farms and vehicles, and mayors are calling for large-scale brush clearing to protect villages.

In France, the department of Aude remains on red alert after a fire that has killed one person and injured several others since 5 August. Temperatures there are expected to hit 40°C this weekend.

Elsewhere in southern Europe, conditions are slowly improving. In Greece, rain and calmer winds have helped firefighters, though active blazes remain on the island of Chios. In Albania, thousands of livestock have been killed, and 40 homes destroyed in just three days of fires.