The European Union is pledging to help Portugal recover from the devastating forest fires that continue to plague the country’s Centre and North regions.
“I’ve just spoken to Luís Montenegro to assure him of European solidarity in the face of the terrible fires in Portugal,” wrote Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (EC), on social media. von der Leyen added that the EC is prepared to “finance the recovery through the European Social Fund”.
“We continue to support Portugal in its efforts against the fires and in helping to prevent further fires,” she added.
Portugal has faced multiple large fires since July, mainly in the North and Centre regions. So far, the fires have claimed three lives, including a firefighter, caused several serious injuries, and destroyed homes, farms, and large areas of forest.
To help fight the flames, Portugal has called on the European Civil Protection Mechanism, receiving two Fire Boss planes and expecting two more Canadair planes on Friday.
By this Thursday, August 21, provisional figures show that 234,000 hectares have burned, including over 53,000 hectares in the Arganil fire alone.
