Villages battle wildfires in Portugal; Europe swelters
By HELENA ALVES and JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press
BEMPOSTA, Portugal (AP) — More than 3,000 firefighters are battling alongside ordinary Portuguese citizens desperate to save their homes as several wildfires rage across the European Union country. Authorities say 25,000 acres have been scorched and 135 people have been injured by fires this week. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa is extending a state of alert for wildfires until Sunday, since temperatures are expected to remain unusually high. In Hungary, a body was found in a farmhouse burned by a small wildfire. Spain and France are also combating fires amid a European heat wave. The EU has warned that wildfires will be more prevalent this summer due to high temperatures linked to climate change.