Firefighters are battling 21 blazes in western Spain, while a man in Portugal was killed while fighting wildfires.
Strong winds have hampered efforts to contain unremitting wildfires that continue to spread in Spain despite lower temperatures, as the death toll in Portugal has climbed to three people after a man was killed while helping fight fires there along the Iberian Peninsula.
Firefighters, backed by troops and water-dropping aircraft, were battling 21 blazes in western Spain classified as “operational level two”, meaning they pose a direct threat to nearby communities, said Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services on Wednesday.
“Temperatures have dropped, but strong gusts of wind continue to hinder firefighting efforts, and the lack of rain is not helping, though we hope that changes in the coming days,” she told a news conference.
Forecasters said winds were expected to ease later in the day, with higher humidity levels likely to help efforts. Rain was forecast in some fire-hit regions on Thursday.
