Morocco Sends Two Aircrafts to Extinguish Fire in Portuguese Madeira Island

More than 1,700 fire fighters were at 12.30pm on Wednesday battling 13 major forest fires in mainland Portugal, while in Funchal, on the island of Madeira, local teams and reinforcements sent from Lisbon continued to try to put out various blazes.

“We understand the dimension of this disgusting tragedy that devastated various municipalities here in Madeira, and we also know about the calamities affecting other zones of the country that now have to be addressed”, he told reporters.

Forest fires are common in Portugal, and elsewhere in southern Europe, during August, but a mixture of temperatures exceeding 86 Fahrenheit and strong winds since Saturday have caused damage on a scale not seen for years.

Civilians, and police officers used water buckets to help extinguish the forest fire near houses at Sao Joao Latrao, Funchal.

The news was confirmed by the Royal Household pointing out to the gravity of the situation in the Portuguese islands where fires took the lives of at least three people and forced thousands to flee their homes.

Madeirans living in Jersey on Wednesday told how their loved ones back home were forced to run from their properties as the huge fires ripped across the countryside and into the capital.

Hospitals and old people’s homes were evacuated as flames advanced on built-up areas of the autonomous island region.

Homes were destroyed in the town of Vitrolles some 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Marseille, with more than 1,000 people forced to seek shelter in local sports centres.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, visiting firemen in several locations, said 1,800 firefighters were mobilized to fight the blazes. Two motorways were closed and several flights at Marseille airport were cancelled.

Francisco Jose Santana, a married father of five, was killed while fighting the fire, which started last Wednesday.

Two people have been arrested on Madeira on suspicion of arson. Spanish media reported that he had tried to burn used toilet paper.