Algarve fires threaten resorts

FOREST fires raged across Portugal yesterday, scorching the Algarve tourist region in the south and bearing down on one town.

The Algarve is one of the worst hit areas, and reports said one-third of the area’s woodland had burned.

Firemen said in one area, the blaze was spreading towards the town of Tavira on the southern coast. Several hundred people were evacuated from the Algarve mountain village of Sao Bras de Alportel, 18 miles north of the coastal city of Faro. About 650 firemen with helicopters and water- dumping planes battled to control the flames.