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A volunteer uses a tree branch to try to prevent a forest fire from spreading to houses in the village of Casal da Quinta outside Leiria
Photo: Joao Henriques / dpa
Fueled by strong winds and high temperatures, two forest fires have flared up again in Portugal.
A total of five fires inland threatened several villages in the municipalities of Leiria, Pombal, Ourém and Alvaiázere, according to civil protection.
Several towns were evacuated.
Around 1,200 firefighters, more than 300 fire engines and a dozen airplanes and helicopters were deployed to fight the flames.
Two of the fires broke out over the weekend and devastated around 2,500 hectares before they could be contained on Monday morning.
On Tuesday, however, the fires flared up again with full force.
Three more fires were added.
Due to the current heat wave, the Portuguese government has ordered emergency services to be on alert until Friday.
"The weather forecasts for the next few days remain extremely worrying in view of the risk of fire," said Prime Minister António Costa.
43.1 degrees in Portugal
Temperatures above 40 degrees are expected in large parts of the country in the next few days.
43.1 degrees were measured on Tuesday near the town of Abrantes in the district of Santarém.
The situation is also getting worse in France.
The fire brigade on the Atlantic coast is currently fighting several forest fires south of the city of Bordeaux.
The prefecture in Bordeaux announced that 120 firefighters and four fire-fighting aircraft were deployed.
Firefighters were also mobilized from other departments.
450 hectares of nature in the area of Landiras and Teste-de-Buch have already fallen victim to the flames.
The fires are favored by persistent drought and a heat wave.
Temperatures of 37 degrees are expected in the region on Wednesday.
The column of smoke from the fires can even be seen in Bordeaux, the broadcaster France Info reported.
Several districts had to be evacuated accordingly.
The French weather service issued a heat warning.
bam/dpa/AFP