Wednesday, September 18, 2024 -The wildfires scorching the Aveiro region of northern Portugal are some of the worst locals have seen for a generation and they feel powerless against the walls of flames.
In the village of Busturenga, where the
smoke was so thick it was hard in places to see more than a few dozen metres,
anxious residents sought on Monday to rescue pets and belongings from homes
perilously close to the blaze.
Some attempted to stop the encroaching
flames but their small buckets of water did little to stem the advance.
"I've never seen anything like it. The
fire was all around the village and the water bombers couldn't get to it
because of the smoke," 67-year-old Maria Fatima told AFP.
Wildfires burned all night from Monday to
Tuesday across the region, destroying scores of homes and thousands of hectares
of woodland and crops.
The flames have killed seven since Saturday
when the authorities placed Portugal on alert because of high temperatures and
strong winds.
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