At least three people died in several fires in Portugal, DPA reported, quoted by BTA. A total of 17 people were injured.
One of the victims was a firefighter who died of a heart attack while on the job. The bodies of two more victims were also found. One was an employee of a forestry company where a fire raged, and the other died of a heart attack while trying to put out the flames near his home.
About 3,500 firefighters, military and civil defense personnel are battling the blaze. The situation is most severe in the northern and central parts of the country.
Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro postponed all his engagements until Tuesday evening because of the fires.
Spain, France, Italy and Greece sent two planes each to fight the fires following a request from Lisbon.
In the district of Aiveiro, in northern Portugal, three large and several smaller fires are raging. An evacuation has begun for residents of Albergaria-a-Veja, a town of about 25,000 residents 60 kilometers south of Porto, where there is also a fire. Smoke from the fires blanketed the sky over the resort town of Aveiro and other towns in the area, and authorities urged people to stay at home and stock up on water.
Several highways were closed because of the flames. There are also violations of train and intercity bus traffic.
Meanwhile, firefighters in Brazil are trying to control a large fire in a nature reserve in the Brazilian capital, France Press reported, quoted by BTA.
This is the biggest fire in the area of the city of Brasilia. Because of him, the capital was enveloped in toxic smoke, and visibility was very low.
Firefighters fight the fire with the help of specialized helicopters and airplanes. About 100 firefighters are involved in the battle with the flames. The fiery element has already consumed 1,200 hectares of the nature reserve.
So far, 57,312 fires have been registered in Brazil since the beginning of the year, which is more than the total for all of last year (46,498 fires), according to data from the National Institute for Space Research, which also analyzes fires based on of satellite data.
According to experts, these fires are partly caused by climate change, but for the most part they are arson