Madrid, 8 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Numerous forest fires in Portugal are keeping the fire brigade, civil defence froces and other volunteers busy across the country.

The three largest fires burned in Odemira in the south-west, in Leiria in the centre and in Cinfães in the north of Portugal on Tuesday.

More than 1,000 firefighters battling the major blazes made some progress on Tuesday, the Público daily reported, citing the Portuguese civil defence authorities.

In Odemira, abound 1,400 people had to be brought to safety from 20 villages and a campsite. According to officials, there were active fires in about 15 areas of the holiday destination on Tuesday.

By Tuesday afternoon, the fire in Odemira had destroyed around 7,000 hectares, which corresponds to around 10,000 football pitches.

A total of 55 people, mainly emergency personnel, were injured in recent days, officials said.

The IPMA weather service warned of the highest level of forest fire risk in more than half of Portugal's territory, including the capital Lisbon.

According to official information, 38 new fires broke out across the country on Tuesday alone, but they were initially of a smaller magnitude. In addition, 15 larger fires remained active. But they are all largely under control.

High temperatures, which climbed at times over 40 degrees Celsius, coupled with strong winds and the long drought contributed to the high risk of forest fires.

From the weekend onwards, the risk will decrease significantly due to lower temperatures, the weather service said.

Despite the warnings, the Interior Ministry ruled out declaring a state of emergency, stating that the work of the emergency services has been very effective.

According to official figures, there have been more than 5,600 fires in Portugal since the beginning of the year, which have destroyed a total of almost 25,000 hectares of nature.

Meanwhile, in Spain, despite another heatwave and forest fire warnings from the Spanish weather service AEMET, there were only a few small fires on Tuesday, all of which were under control.

The heatwave in Spain is expected to peak on Wednesday.

According to AEMET, temperatures could rise to 44 degrees in regions around the capital Madrid as well as in Jaén in Andalusia.

The Balearic Islands and the entire Mediterranean coast are expected to be spared this time.

Photo: MIA archive