At Least Nine Dead in Portuguese Forest Fires

04/08/2003| IslamWeb

Deadly forest fires raging in Portugal have killed at least nine people. Firemen from Italy, Spain and Morocco are working alongside Portuguese emergency services battling the flames. The fires, described as some of the worst in living memory, are still dangerously close to many people's homes. Authorities say the fires have hit 13 of the country's 18 districts. The hardest-hit area is around Castelo Branco and Portalegre, rural areas dotted with small villages and farms. Thousands of acres of land have been devastated, particularly in the centre of the country where most of the forests are concentrated. Officials have warned that the situation is getting worse. Some villages have had to be evacuated because of the fires and authorities say it is impossible to estimate how many homes have been destroyed. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A man standing in a cemetery watches growing clouds of smoke as a fast-moving forest fire closed in on his village of Fundada, near Castelo Branco, central Portugal, Thursday, July 31 2003. (AP Photo/Leonel de Castro/Jornal de Noticias)