A fire that started August 3 has burned 52, 000 acres (21,000 hectares) in the southern Algarve region of Portugal.
Below is an excerpt from an article at Geo.tv dated August 9, 2018:
“MONCHIQUE: Wildfires scorched across Portugal’s southern Algarve region on Wednesday, threatening more villages as the country’s prime minister warned the blaze could burn for days before being brought under control.
“Over 1,400 firefighters and soldiers were battling the blaze around the mountain spa town of Monchique in one of Europe’s top tourist destinations.
“They were backed up by 13 water-dropping aircraft that scooped water from the sea at nearby beach resorts to battle the flames which were scorching a path towards more villages.
“Sweltering temperatures and strong winds kindled blazes that have whipped across the region as the Europe-wide heatwave sent the mercury above 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in some areas of Portugal at the weekend.”
