Portugal wildfire threatens homes as firefighters combat flames

REUTERS: Firefighters battled raging wildfires in central Portugal on Sunday (July 21) as blaze fanned by strong winds closed in on villages, forcing some locals to protect their homes with buckets of water and hosepipes. Two of the three wildfires which broke out on Saturday (July 20) in Castelo Branco, a district 225 kilometers (139 miles) northeast of Lisbon, are still burning. Having spread to the nearby Santarem district, they are now threatening several villages in the Vila de Rei and Macao municipalities. Authorities have evacuated villages and fluvial beaches as a precaution and 20 people -- twelve civilians and eight firefighters -- have been injured. One is in a serious condition and remains hospitalized with first and second-degree burns. More than 1,150 firefighters are on the ground, according to the National Authority for Civil Protection. However, a Reuters photographer in Vila de Rei said the sight of firefighters was rare and the wildfire there was spreading. In a statement, police said that a 55-year-old man was detained on suspicion of starting a blaze in the Portuguese district of Castelo Branco. Quoted by Portuguese newspaper Observador, a police source said the detention was not related to the ongoing fires. The police did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. A number of municipalities in Santarem and Castelo Branco are still considered at maximum risk of fire, according to the national meteorological agency. The fires stirred memories of a devastating wildfire in the central town of Pedrogao Grande in June 2017, the worst disaster in modern Portuguese history, which killed 64 people and injured more than 250.