Lisbon, July 4 (IANS) Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has announced that Portugal will activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism and bilateral cooperation agreements with Spain and Morocco in response to an extreme heat wave that is driving severe wildfire risk across the country.
“We decided, at this point, to activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism and also the bilateral agreements with Spain and Morocco,” Montenegro said on Friday (local time), stressing that the move was precautionary and that national capacity had not yet been exhausted.
He said that the goal was to avoid transferring firefighting assets between regions, citing a “significant deterioration in rural fire risk.”
Twelve of Portugal’s 18 mainland districts are currently under red alert due to extreme heat, with virtually the entire continental territory under elevated wildfire risk, reports Xinhua news agency.
The European Civil Protection Mechanism allows EU member states and other participating countries to request international assistance when national resources are insufficient or when they wish to reinforce response capacity preventively.
Meanwhile, a large wildfire broke out Friday evening in Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia, remaining out of control with approximately 2,300 hectares of land burned.
Nearly 10,000 residents in multiple municipalities in Girona province have been evacuated or ordered to shelter in place due to the blaze, and several roads have been temporarily closed. All residents have been reported safe.
Strong winds have hampered firefighting efforts and triggered secondary blazes, causing the fire to spread rapidly and reach a nearby nature reserve. Local fire services have deployed more than 400 firefighters, along with multiple helicopters and firefighting aircraft. Spain’s Military Emergency Unit has sent 200 soldiers and 60 vehicles to reinforce the response.
Ferran Garcia, head of firefighting operations in the Girona region, said the fire may have grown beyond firefighters’ capacity to extinguish, adding that their priority is to contain the blaze as much as possible and minimise damage.
Citing local police, Spanish media reported that a worker has been detained on suspicion of arson. Preliminary investigations suggest the fire may have been sparked by machinery used during roadwork. The case remains under investigation.
–IANS
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