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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Read moreA 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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Read moreFirefighters tackle a wildfire at Amendoa, in Mação, Portugal, on July 21, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
Read moreResidents help to put out a forest fire in the small village of Colos, Portugal, on July 21, 2019. #
Rafael Marchante / Reuters -
Read moreSmoke billows from wildfires in Mação on July 22, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreA helicopter takes on water behind the Vergancinho dam to extinguish a wildfire near Colos village on July 22, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
Read moreA villager tries to extinguish a wildfire in the village of Chaveira, near Mação, on July 22, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
Read moreA woman gives cakes and beers to villagers during a forest fire in Colos on July 21, 2019. #
Rafael Marchante / Reuters -
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Read moreA firefighting plane drops water over a wildfire at Relva in Mação, central Portugal, on July 21, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
Read moreA firefighter tries to extinguish a wildfire in the village of Casais de Sao Bento on July 22, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
Read moreA burned forest, photographed after a wildfire near Cardigos village on July 22, 2019 #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
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Read moreA burned car sits near a house near Roda, in central Portugal, on July 23, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
Read moreFallen oranges sit under a burned orange tree in the village of Roda on July 23, 2019. #
Rafael Marchante / Reuters -
Read moreA burned power pole hangs from wires near Cardigos on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
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Read moreA road passes through a burned forest after a wildfire in Mação on July 22, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
Read moreA villager uses a hose to put out flames during a wildfire in Roda on July 21, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
Read moreA 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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Read moreA firefighter monitors the progression of a wildfire at Amendoa on July 21, 2019. #
Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty -
Read moreA 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 -
Read moreFire advances toward houses in the village of Chaveira on July 22, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
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Read moreMembers of emergency services try to extinguish a wildfire near Portugal's Cardigos village on July 21, 2019. #
Sergio Azenha / AP -
Read moreA 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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