Portugal, without firefighting aircraft, asks Morocco for help to extinguish the flames.

In Portugal, the same image as in previous summers is repeating itself: a fire consuming hectares of land driven by the wind; the distraught faces of residents watching the smoke and flames approach, endangering their homes; and the efforts of firefighters—mostly volunteers—working day and night to try to control the blaze. Many complain of a lack of resources or the difficulty of accessing the mountains , as dry brush grows on roads that haven't been cleared during the winter, impeding access.

This August, the northern interior of Portugal is bearing the brunt, specifically the region of Vila Real, near the border with Spain , where more than 2,000 firefighters are trying to extinguish the still-burning fires. Although no towns have been affected so far, residents of nearby villages are anxiously following the development of the active fronts, fearing that the wind will change direction and put them in danger again.

Despite being a battle that recurs every summer, and being the European country with the largest area burned in the last thirty years, Portugal is the only Mediterranean country that does not have its own fleet of Canadair aircraft. During the previous socialist government of António Costa, the country opted to acquire several Russian helicopters that proved ineffective in fighting the fires, so they were eventually transferred to Ukraine.

At this time, the three Canadair planes that Portugal had chartered to fight the blazes are damaged. Therefore, three Canadair planes arrived in the country this Tuesday from Morocco to support the firefighting efforts in the Trancoso fire, one of the most difficult to control in recent days. In total, six aircraft have been mobilized to fight the blazes in this area. The city council has suspended watering public spaces and asked the public to reduce water consumption to what is "strictly necessary" to "safeguard an essential resource for fighting the fire." In this area alone, it is estimated that more than 8,000 hectares have burned.

So far this year, more than 60,000 hectares have burned in Portugal. In the last two weeks alone, this figure has tripled, exceeding the average burned area over the past twenty years. In total, more than 5,700 fires have been recorded, most of them in the north and center of the country, according to data from the Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation (ICNF).

This year, more than seventy people suspected of starting fires have been arrested, most of them repeat offenders, some even in the last few days or just hours before their arrest. The Portuguese Judicial Police (PJ) has a record of the profiles of more than 900 arsonists, and according to the Portuguese Environment Agency, 28 % of fires are arson . The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (Anepc) confirmed that 37 injuries were reported—including civilians and operatives—who were treated on-site or taken to nearby hospitals.

2017 was the worst year in Portugal for fires. On June 17, in Pedrógão Grande, in the center of the country, a fire left 64 dead and nearly 200 people evacuated, fleeing the flames, leaving their homes burned down. On October 15 of that same year, more than 500 fires were recorded in a single day, causing 50 deaths and nearly 70 injuries.