At least 35 die in Portugal fires

LISBON, Portugal — Late season wildfires that broke out over the weekend in Portugal have killed at least 35 people, including a 1-month-old infant, authorities said Monday, making 2017 by far the deadliest year on record for forest blazes in the country.

In neighboring Spain, wildfires have also killed at least four people and prompted the evacuation of thousands in the northwest region of Galicia, as the remnants of winds from Hurricane Ophelia fanned the flames along Iberia’s Atlantic coast.

The fires returned to Portugal four months after a summer blaze claimed 64 lives in one night.

The year’s current total of 99 deaths is far higher than the previous annual record of 25, in 1966.

A one-month-old baby was among the dead, the Civil Protection Agency said Monday. The infant’s body was found near Tabua, some 120 miles north of Lisbon.

The parent’s bodies reportedly were found nearby. Officials did not provide further details.

Civil Protection Agency spokeswoman Patricia Gaspar said the death toll could rise.

“We are still searching burnt areas to see if there are any more victims,” Gaspar told The Associated Press.

She said 56 people were injured, 16 of them seriously, and nine people were reported missing in the blazes that broke out over the weekend.

More than 5,300 firefighters with more than 1,600 vehicles were still battling the fires through dense pine and e eucalyptus forests Monday.

Portugal endures widespread forest blazes every summer. A prolonged drought has made the calamity worse this year.

Most fires are set deliberately, officials say, and spread quickly due to poor forest management which leaves debris that fuels fires. Emergency services recorded 523 wildfires Sunday, the highest number in a single day this year and the highest on one day in more than a decade.

“You don’t see that in any other country in the world,” said Civil Protection Agency spokeswoman Patricia Gaspar.

Spain’s prime minister focused on criminal intent, and said authorities were certain the fires were caused by arsonists.

“What we are seeing here doesn’t happen accidentally. This has been induced,” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said.

LALO R. VILLAR/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A police officer inspects the remains of the car where two women died Monday during a wildfire in Pontevedra, Spain. Authorities in Portugal and Spain say that hundreds of wildfires have caused multiple deaths as people are trapped by fast moving flames.