Portugal extends alert status amid ongoing wildfires

ISTANBUL

With the country continuing to battle wildfires, Portugal has extended its alert status starting from Friday through the middle of next week.

The Portuguese National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection announced that the country will be on alert status through next Wednesday as it continues to battles fires that have raged during the week.

While fires in the northern locales of Vila Pouca de Aguiar and Ribeira de Pena had been considered under control, shifting winds rekindled the latter blaze, according to public broadcaster RTP.

A red heat warning also remains in effect for certain parts of Portugal through Monday.

A fire that started Tuesday in the southern French department of Aude, near Spain, was also brought under control on Friday after having swept around 17,000 hectares (about 42,000 acres), according to broadcaster BFM TV.

The fire left a person dead and 18 injured, damaging 36 homes and 54 vehicles.

It is expected to take several more days to fully extinguish, with the risk of reignition still present.

In Spain, a fire that started on Tuesday in the southwestern city of Cadiz was also stabilized late Wednesday following the evacuation of approximately 1,500 people, according to public broadcaster RTVE.