Portugal on high alert as firefighters battle blaze

Monte Fundeiro: Portugal will go on high alert as more than 850 firefighters struggle to put out a fire sweeping across part of the country's central region on Sunday, July 26 with strong winds and high temperatures complicating efforts to tackle the blaze.

The wildfire has been raging in the municipality of Oleiros since Saturday, July 25 afternoon but it has spread to two neighbouring municipalities and has already forced the precautionary evacuation of a number of people. Video published on social media showed volunteers using buckets of water to control the fires in Oleiros on Sunday.

A 21-year-old firefighter died in a road accident on Saturday evening while fighting the fire, and seven others were injured, including one civilian. High temperatures are expected to continue, the country's meteorology agency IPMA said, with the temperature in the Castelo Branco district, where the affected municipalities are located, expected to reach 38C on Monday, July 27.