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There is a slight easing in the severe forest fires in Portugal. However, around 1400 firefighters are still in action.
Image: dpa
There has been a fourth fatality in Portugal in the fight against the major forest fires. The firefighter suffered severe burns on Tuesday near the small town of Sabugal in the east of the country and died on Saturday in a hospital in Porto, reported state TV station RTP. The 45-year-old had suffered burns to 75 percent of his skin. This means that a total of eight people died in forest fires in Portugal and Spain in August.
According to official figures, around 1,400 firefighters were still in action in Portugal, fighting a forest fire in Arganil in the center of the country, among other things. Other fires were either under control or extinguished.
There was also a cautious all-clear from neighboring Spain. Firefighters were also helped by the end of the heatwave with temperatures of over 40 degrees. It even rained a little in places.
The situation in Spain is developing positively, said the Director General for Civil Protection, Virginia Barcones, to the state TV station RTVE. At the same time, she called for a "final effort", as there are still 16 active forest fires. Since Tuesday, 67 firefighters from Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia have also been working in Spain.
According to preliminary estimates from the European Forest Fire Information System EFFIS on Saturday, more than 4,000 square kilometers of nature have been destroyed in Spain since the beginning of the year. That is more than has ever been measured in an entire year. For comparison: the area burned is significantly larger than the Saarland (around 2570 square kilometers). In Portugal, an area of almost 2800 square kilometers was affected.
In Portugal and Spain, people are hoping for an end to the major forest fires. But large fires are still blazing there. And they are life-threatening, as another sad case shows.
23.08.2025, 18:13