Portugal announced on Thursday that it had finally "controlled" the great fire in the Serra da Estrela natural park.
"It is not extinct", however declared the commander of the Portuguese civil protection.
“There is a whole consolidation work that will continue in the coming days.
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Portugal 🇵🇹 Fires 🔥
Flames covered about 15% of Serra da Estrela National Park.
More than 1,600 firefighters and nine bombers fought it.
pic.twitter.com/6hAHmUUozk
— P. 🇫🇷 (@Vpauline006) August 13, 2022
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An unfinished fire
The emergency services do not exclude new reactivations of the fire but are confident.
Nearly a thousand firefighters were still mobilized Thursday morning on the ground.
The fire, declared on August 6, had been brought under control for the first time in mid-August, but flared up again on Monday, fanned by strong winds.
This fire in the heart of the natural park recognized by Unesco is the most important this summer in Portugal.
It destroyed 25,000 hectares of forest in this mountain range culminating at 2,000 m.
Since the beginning of 2022, 92,000 hectares have gone up in smoke in the country, the largest area since the deadly fires of 2017 which claimed a hundred victims.
The situation is improving in Spain
In Spain, the onset of rain and lower temperatures have significantly curbed two major fires in the Valencia region, in Vall d'Ebo and Bejis, authorities said on Thursday.
Local emergency services confirmed that the downpours "reduced the flames until they almost disappeared around the entire perimeter".
Between them, the blazes of Bejis and Vall d'Ebo ravaged nearly 25,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of some 3,000 people.
According to scientists, global warming increases the likelihood of heat waves as well as droughts and, in turn, fires.
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