Over the past few days in Portugal’s Castelo Branco region, strong winds and temperatures greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) have driven devastating wildfires through several villages, destroying structures and injuring 39 people. Nearly 2,000 firefighters worked to bring the three major fires largely under control, but authorities warned that hot and dry conditions could lead to more flare-ups. Below, images of the wildfires and of the residents, volunteers, and professionals working to minimize the damage.
Wildfires Rage in Central Portugal
- Alan Taylor
- July 23, 2019
- 21 Photos
- In Focus
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A firefighting airplane operates over a fire in the village of Chaveira, near Mação, in central Portugal, on July 22, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
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Firefighters tackle a wildfire at Amendoa, in Mação, Portugal, on July 21, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
Residents help to put out a forest fire in the small village of Colos, Portugal, on July 21, 2019. #
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Smoke billows from wildfires in Mação on July 22, 2019. #
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A helicopter takes on water behind the Vergancinho dam to extinguish a wildfire near Colos village on July 22, 2019. #
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A villager tries to extinguish a wildfire in the village of Chaveira, near Mação, on July 22, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
A woman gives cakes and beers to villagers during a forest fire in Colos on July 21, 2019. #
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A firefighting plane drops water over a wildfire at Relva in Mação, central Portugal, on July 21, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
A firefighter tries to extinguish a wildfire in the village of Casais de Sao Bento on July 22, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
A burned forest, photographed after a wildfire near Cardigos village on July 22, 2019 #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
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A burned car sits near a house near Roda, in central Portugal, on July 23, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
Fallen oranges sit under a burned orange tree in the village of Roda on July 23, 2019. #
Rafael Marchante / Reuters -
A burned power pole hangs from wires near Cardigos on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
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A road passes through a burned forest after a wildfire in Mação on July 22, 2019. #
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A villager uses a hose to put out flames during a wildfire in Roda on July 21, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
A fire-squad helicopter takes off after picking up water as an airplane drops water on a wildfire in the village of Casais de Sao Bento on July 22, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
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A firefighter monitors the progression of a wildfire at Amendoa on July 21, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
A villager carries a bucket of water as a wildfire encroaches on his home at Amendoa on July 21, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
Fire advances toward houses in the village of Chaveira on July 22, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
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Members of emergency services try to extinguish a wildfire near Portugal's Cardigos village on July 21, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
A villager gestures as fire squads drop water over a wildfire at sunset in Chaveira on July 22, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty
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