3,000 fight raging wildfires in Portugal

Around 3,000 firefighters in Portugal were struggling to put out more than 150 wildfires raging across the country Tuesday, as persistent hot and dry weather stoked the flames, officials said.

In one case, around 800 firefighters supported by air units were needed to finally bring under control a blaze that had burned for three days near the central town of Vila dei Rei.

Portuguese public television RTP showed images of towering flames illuminating the night which by morning had left large swathes of scorched forest near the town, where authorities removed 112 people Monday.

Another 300 firefighters were focused on combating a second large fire also in the interior of the country.

RTP showed images of smoke rising as fires advanced through wooded hills, threatening the villages of Ferreira do Zezere and Macedo de Cavaleiros.

Civil Protection Agency spokesperson Patricia Gaspar said Tuesday that 55 people had been injured, including four with serious injuries, by fires in Portugal since Aug. 9.

Meanwhile in Greece, some 350 firefighters and soldiers assisted by water-dropping planes and dozens of fire trucks struggled to contain a large wildfire raging for three days through pine forests north of Athens, which left a smoky haze and ash drifting over much of the capital.