Thousands of firefighters tackle deadly blazes in Portugal

More than 5,000 firefighters are battling dozens of active fires in northern and central Portugal, where at least four people have died, including an elderly woman and an on-duty firefighter.

The Civil Protection website says that 48 fires are currently active as of Tuesday, with 100 incidents reported. In addition to the casualties, 40 others have been injured.

A spokesman for the National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC) described operations in the badly-hit region of Lusa as "very difficult", due to the "very significant" number of blazes.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said on social media platform X that the country was going through "difficult days".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels would send eight firefighting planes from the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism to support emergency services.

Districts on high alert due to heat

Firefighting conditions on the ground are expected to remain difficult, with the weather institute IPMA issuing continued warnings due to the heat.

According to the Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute, eight districts in mainland Portugal are under a yellow warning for heat, which will be in effect until at least 6.00 pm local time on Tuesday.

IPMA said in a statement that the districts of Porto, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Lisbon, Leiria, Aveiro, Coimbra and Braga are on alert due to the "persistence of high maximum temperatures," while several municipalities across all districts of mainland Portugal are facing "high" to "very high" fire danger.

The fires have led to road traffic restrictions, with Civil Protection advising against travel to the affected areas, particularly the Aveiro district. Several roads and motorways were closed overnight — a situation that continued into the morning.