Hundreds of firefighters battle Portugal wildfire; Greek officials warn of toxic smoke.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters battled wildfires in Portugal, Greece and Spain on Sunday, with Spain and Italy sending reinforcements to Portugal to help with a massive blaze burning for more than three days. Another major wildfire broke out Sunday afternoon west of the Greek capital, Athens.
By Sunday, the wildfire had burned across an area of 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres), according to data from the European Union’s Copernicus satellite mapping agency. Authorities were racing to contain the blaze before nightfall, when aircraft can no longer carry out firefighting operations.
In central Portugal’s Vouzela area, more than 1,200 firefighters, backed by nearly 400 vehicles and 15 aircraft, were trying to extinguish a blaze that broke out Thursday, according to the EU Civil Protection authority.
The EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department said Spain sent 120 firefighters and 45 vehicles as reinforcements to Portugal on Friday, while three firefighting aircraft from Italy and Spain were also dispatched to help.
Authorities urged residents in parts of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, to remain indoors and close their windows and doors because of toxic smoke from a burning recycling plant engulfed by a wildfire. In Greece, a fast-moving blaze at a recycling plant broke out Saturday evening near the Oraiokastro suburb of Thessaloniki, triggering evacuation alerts for three suburbs and a facility housing 157 people with special needs.
In Spain, a wildfire that has been burning since Friday in the northeastern Girona region had scorched nearly 2,200 hectares (5,400 acres), the EFE news agency said. By Sunday afternoon, the fire appeared to be easing somewhat, with Portuguese media quoting officials as saying it no longer had major active fronts, though some hot spots remained.