Portugal: 3-Day high alert to prevent wildfires

Portugal’s government imposed a three-day entry ban to forests as of Sunday to prevent possible fires.

The measure aims to prevent possible forest fires due to adverse weather conditions, including wind and temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius.

Patrol teams, including soldiers, were deployed in the forests as part of the alarm situation.

The Civil Protection Agency also announced that an additional 500 firefighters will be recruited.

In the three-day measures, agricultural workers are allowed to work in their fields only until 11.00 a.m. (local time), except for special permits.

Last week, an area of 28,000 hectares burned in the mountainous region of Serra de Estrella.

Since the beginning of the year, over 70,000 hectares of forest land have been burned, the authorities reported.