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Wildfires rage in Portugal and Spain as heat and drought fuel new blazes

Hundreds of firefighters are battling fresh wildfires across Portugal and Spain, as both countries reel from an exceptionally hot and dry summer that has already left behind widespread destruction.

TAS News Service

info@thearabianstories.com

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Lisbon: In Portugal, the largest blaze erupted in the central Seia region, where more than 600 firefighters were deployed to contain flames fanned by strong winds. The fire forced the closure of several roads and raised fears of further spread in the mountainous terrain.

Across the border in Spain, authorities introduced precautionary measures in the village of Castromel, northwest of the country, after a new fire broke out nearby. Environmental officials in Castile and Leon reported that strong winds had rekindled a previous blaze, complicating firefighting efforts.

The fresh flare-ups come just days after Spain lifted a weeks-long state of emergency following one of its worst wildfires in recent years, which killed four people and scorched more than 300,000 hectares of land.

Portugal has also faced devastating losses, with fires in August sweeping through central and northern regions, killing four and destroying about 254,000 hectares, the worst toll since 2017, according to the National Institute for Nature Conservation and Forestry.

The National Meteorological Agency confirmed that Portugal endured its hottest and driest summer since 1931, conditions that have significantly raised the risk of wildfires across the Iberian Peninsula.

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