‘I’ve never seen anything like this’: Portuguese village destroyed by wildfire

The wildfires ravaging the Aveiro region in northern Portugal are one of the worst in a generation for local residents, who are feeling helpless in the face of a wall of flames.

In the village of Busturenga, where smoke was so thick in some places it was difficult to see dozens of metres ahead, anxious residents on Monday tried to rescue pets and belongings from homes perilously close to the fire.

Some tried to step over the approaching flames, but the small buckets of water they were carrying did little to stop the flames’ advance.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. The fire was spreading all around the village and even the water cannons couldn’t get close because of the smoke,” Maria Fatima, 67, told AFP.

The fires continued to burn across the region overnight on Monday and into Tuesday, destroying dozens of homes and thousands of hectares of forest and crops.

Seven people have died in fires since Saturday, when authorities issued an alert for Portugal because of high temperatures and strong winds.

“I’m so scared!” said a tearful Maria Ribeiro, 82, as she watched helplessly.

“All my land was burned…. I was lucky my house wasn’t burned,” she added, adjusting her smoke mask over her mouth and wiping away tears.

“We were really left to deal with it on our own and it was really scary. No one was coming to help us.”

As she spoke, a line of fire engines sped away towards the huge flames ravaging the resinous eucalyptus plantations that surround the village.

Portuguese television showed footage of locals watching anxiously as the flames spread from wooden poles to power lines and a garage full of motorbikes loaded with petrol.

Helpless

The air in the village square outside the little white church was thick with the smell of burning and the dust made it hard to breathe.

Nearby Ribeiro’s house, residents with hoes and buckets were spraying water on the gardens and low walls in front of their homes, trying to save them.

Maria do Carmo Carvalho, a 70-year-old farmer, remained outside her home, searching for rescuers and worrying about her crops.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. The worst part is the wind,” she said, her eyes reddened by smoke after battling the flames all Monday afternoon to save her chickens.

The mountain road leading to the village was dotted with blackened trees and burnt brush under a black sky.

“There’s nothing we can do, we just have to wait,” Antonio Tavares said, shrugging resignedly as he parked his car on the side of the road.

“We’re waiting for the firefighters to let us through,” the retired carpenter explained, anxiously looking at his workshop on a hillside where lumber is piled high.

A 28-year-old Brazilian forestry worker was burned to death nearby on Monday.

The man was trapped in flames while trying to remove tools from the burning area, the Lusa news agency quoted police as saying.

Spanish water bombers arrived in Portugal on Monday after the Spanish government officially requested assistance from European Union countries.

As night fell, villagers could only pray that reinforcements promised this week by France, Greece and Italy would arrive in time.

© 2024 AFP