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Portugal: Wildfires rage across Madeira Islands

Portuguese authorities are on high alert as a wave of wildfires sweeps across the Madeira Islands.

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Burned traffic signs by the side of a road near Agueda, in the region of Aveiro, in northern Portugal. [Sergio Azenha/AP]
Published On 10 Aug 2016

A major forest fire in Portugal’s Madeira Islands has forced more than 400 people to flee their homes and seen at least 174 others treated in hospital, officials said Tuesday.

Other wildfires have raged for several days on the Portuguese mainland. 

The National Civil Protection Service said some 2,900 firefighters were in action on Tuesday tackling dozens of forest fires. The worst-hit areas were in the country’s north.

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A general view of Sitio de Curral dos Romeiros during the wildfires at Funchal, Madeira island. [Duarte Sa/Reuters]
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Men engulfed in smoke on the streets of Bom Sucesso close to the wildfires in Funchal, on Madeira. [Duarte Sa/Reuters]
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Some 350 wildfires have forced more than 400 people to flee their homes on Madeira. [Gregorio Cunha/EPA]
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A firefighter works to stop a fire in Quintela, near Arouca, in the region of Aveiro, in northern Portugal. [Sergio Azenha/AP]
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A policewoman escorts an elderly woman as she is evacuated from an area close to the wildfire in Curral dos Romeiros, on the outskirts of Funchal, the capital of Madeira. [Helder Santos/AP]
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A forest fire rages near homes in Curral dos Romeiros, on the outskirts of Funchal.[Helder Santos/AP]
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A man runs in Bom Sucesso during the wildfires at Funchal. [Duarte Sa/Reuters]
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Flames from forest fires are encroaching on homes around Funchal, casting a plume of smoke over the downtown area. [Helder Santos/AP]