EU heeds Portugal’s call for help in fighting forest fires

TWO Canadair water tank planes from France and one from Spain arrived in Portugal yesterday afternoon to help fight more than 60 wildfires gripping the country from north to south, firefighters said.

A third of these were burning in the northern districts of Viseu and Viana do Castelo.

Today, a Canadair from Italy plus three helicopters from Germany with 25 anti-fire specialists onboard are expected to arrive in the fire stricken country to add to the international task force.

Portugal had asked the European Union for help in fighting massive wildfires as the interior ministry admitted it could no longer cope with dozens of blazes burning through forests and farmland without external help.

Portugal’s worst drought in years has helped the flames spread. So far, 11 firefighters and four civilians have been killed in this year’s fires, while 50 houses have been destroyed.

The most serious fire was in the Pampilhosa da Serra region, in the district of Coimbra, 122 miles north of Lisbon. Although the fire had seemingly been extinguished last Wednesday after burning for five days, the flames flared up again on Friday, forcing several villages to be evacuated.

So far, 74,130 acres of the region’s 96,369 acres have been destroyed, and 200 firefighters, 74 fire trucks and three firefighting planes and helicopters were battling the flames in the area.

President Jorge Sampaio yesterday asked all employers to release any employees who also work as firefighters so that they could help fight the blazes.

“I appeal to all employers to release your firefighter employees to help fight this terrible tragedy,” he said after attending a briefing at the Lisbon firefighters headquarters.

“We have a vast corps of volunteers and we need them all on the field,” he said.

The president thanked the international community for their help and also asked the Portuguese to unite in the face of a “demanding and difficult moment”.

Earlier, Prime Minister Jose Socrates visited Pampilhosa da Serra and praised the firefighters.