Portugal forest fire destroys more than 64,000 hectares
Nearly a thousand firefighters were deployed in central Portugal on Monday to prevent a fire that had been brought under control the previous day from reigniting. According to initial estimates, the fire destroyed 64,451 hectares of land — an area four times the size of the Brussels region.
The blaze raged for eleven days across seven municipalities at the intersection of the districts of Coimbra, Guarda and Castelo Branco. According to the Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation, it is the largest fire ever recorded in Portugal.
The fire brigade said it now has the fire under control. There is no longer any danger of the fire spreading further on Monday. Telmo Ferreira of the civil protection agency said that 963 firefighters, supported by 300 vehicles, are still being deployed for "monitoring operations".
Portugal has been hit by devastating fires this summer. Since the end of July, a total of 278,000 hectares have been reduced to ashes. The fires have already claimed four lives.
Exceptional drought
Much of the European continent has been experiencing exceptional drought conditions, according to an analysis by the French news agency AFP, based on data from the European Drought Observatory.
The region has broken monthly drought records every month since January. Between 1 and 10 August, more than half of European soil and the coasts around the Mediterranean Sea were affected by drought.
At the start of the month, 7.8 per cent of the region was experiencing the most severe conditions, 38.7 per cent was at the warning level, and 4.9 per cent was at the alert level.
Heatwaves and forest fires
The Caucasus and the northern Balkans were the worst affected areas. For instance, 97 per cent of Georgia and Armenia's territory is affected, with similar levels in Bulgaria and Kosovo.
In Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Hungary and Montenegro, it is around three-quarters of the total area. The entire region experienced heatwaves and numerous forest fires in July and August, which also claimed lives.
A wildfire approaches the village of Benvide, in Trancoso, Portugal, on 14 August 2025 © PHOTO PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP
Related news
