Portugal fights record number of wildfires for 1 day in 2017
A firefighter controls a wild fire approaching the village of Pucarica, near Abrantes, central Portugal, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017. Strong winds and rising temperatures stoked wildfires in Portugal on Thursday, ending days of cooler weather that brought a brief respite from a spate of blazes, including one that killed 64 people in June. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
LISBON — Portugal is fighting to put out a spate of wildfires after the southern European country hit a year high of outbreaks for a single day on Friday, authorities say.
Portugal's Civil Protection Agency, which coordinates its firefighting efforts, said yesterday that it recorded a record for this year of 220 separate wildfires on Friday.
Over 2,500 firefighters supported by over 800 vehicles and 15 air units were still mobilized on yesterday morning to combat the flames.
Portugal has been hard hit by wildfires, including one that killed 64 people in June, during a summer marked by high temperatures and a lack of rain.
Wildfires in Portugal this year have accounted for more than one-third of the burnt forest in the entire 28-country European Union.
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