Wildfires in Portugal, Spain kill at least 9 people

By Barry hHtton
Associated Press in ABC News
October 16, 2017
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Wildfires in Portugal killed at least 27 people, injured dozens more and left others missing in the country’s second such tragedy in four months, officials said Monday. In neighboring Spain, four deaths were reported. The fatalities in Portugal occurred in densely forested parts of central and northern part of the country after blazes broke out in “exceptional” weather circumstances, Civil Protection Agency spokeswoman Patricia Gaspar said. The situation was still “critical” because of unseasonably high temperatures, Gaspar said. But cooler, wetter weather is approaching, which may give some respite to firefighters tackling the blazes. In addition to the 27 dead, 51 people have been injured, including 15 in serious condition, Gaspar said. She also said that an unknown number of people were still missing.

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