Hundreds of firefighters scramble to put out Portugal wildfire

Backed by 189 vehicles, more than 600 firefighters were brought in after the fire erupted. Water-bombing planes also battled the blaze but had to stop operating as the night set in

A wildfire advances burning the forest in Alcabideche, outside Lisbon on Tuesday. Picture: AP Photo/Armando Franca

Aided by local residents, hundreds of Portuguese firefighters scrambled on Tuesday to put out flames sweeping across a natural park near the popular holiday destination of Cascais, with strong winds complicating efforts to tackle the blaze.

The wildfire started at 5pm local time in a mountainous area that is part of the Sintra-Cascais natural park, which covers around 145 square kilometres of land and is located west of the capital Lisbon.