Portugal’s Madeira wildfire still raging after a week, teams reinforced

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LISBON (Reuters) – A wildfire raging on Portugal’s island of Madeira continued into its second week on Wednesday, having burned through at least 4,400 hectares (10,872 acres) of vegetation, prompting mainland authorities to send reinforcements.

Authorities said the blaze had two active fronts, one in the coastal highlands of Ponta do Sol and another in the central mountain range including the archipelago’s highest mountain Pico Ruivo, but emphasised that it was not affecting people or homes.

“The most worrying area now is the central mountain range between the highlands of Curral das Freiras and Pico Ruivo, where the fire is consuming an increasingly large surface in areas that are difficult to access, making it hard to fight,” local civil protection said.

Portugal’s emergency and civil protection service said it was sending another 60 firefighters to the island to help local teams, after deploying 76 firefighters on Saturday night. The neighbouring Azores archipelago has also sent firefighters.

“It’s essential to tone down the alarmist rhetoric at the moment. The situation is safe and we are doing what we have to do,” regional government chief Miguel Albuquerque told reporters.

The entire south coastline of Madeira – an autonomous region of Portugal with around 250,000 residents and a popular tourist destination – has been on alert for high temperatures and risk of wildfires for days.

Rising global temperatures due to climate change have led to more frequent wildfires, from Southern and Eastern Europe to North America and parts of Asia.