Deadly forest fires rage in Portugal
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Firefighters battling forest fire
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Firefighters running along road
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Smoke rising in distance
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Burned out car on road
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Aircraft dropping water at fire
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Firefighters resting at scene of fire
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Evacuees receiving medical care
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Firefighters battling forest fire
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Fire reflected in stream
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Firefighters spraying water onto fire
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Forest engulfed in flames
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Firefighters spraying water onto fire
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Firefighters resting at scene of fire
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Burned out cars
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Firefighter spraying water onto fire
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Forest engulfed in flames
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Deadly forest fires rage in Portugal
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Police officer standing near body of fire victim
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Burned out cars and blankets draped over victims
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Fire and smoke on motorway
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Burned out vehicles on road
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Policeman standing near burned out cars and body of victim
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Forest fire raging
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Couple reacting while on roadway
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Firefighter standing on truck in front of fire
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Red Cross and police evacuating homes
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Man reacting near burned out truck
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Refrigerated truck arriving to tramsport bodies
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Man standing roadside watching fire
Raging forest fires in central Portugal killed at least 61 people, many of them trapped in their cars as flames swept over a road, in what the prime minister on Sunday called “the biggest tragedy” the country has experienced in years.
Portugal has declared three days of national mourning for the victims in the blaze “which has caused an irreparable loss of human life,” according to a government statement.
A lightning strike is believed to have sparked the blaze in the Pedrogao Grande area after investigators found a tree that was hit during a “dry thunderstorm,” the head of the national judicial police told Portuguese media. Dry thunderstorms are frequent when falling water evaporates before reaching the ground because of high temperatures. Portugal, like most southern European countries, is prone to forest fires in the dry summer months.
“This is a region that has had fires because of its forests, but we cannot remember a tragedy of these proportions,” said Valdemar Alves, mayor of Pedrogao Grande. “I am completely stunned by the number of deaths.” (AP)
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