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Marrakech – Portugal activated its bilateral civil protection agreements with Morocco and Spain, alongside the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, on Friday as wildfires fueled by a severe heatwave spread across the country.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced the decision after a Council of Ministers meeting in Guimarães. He described an “exceptional situation” in the coming days, with the “entire country facing a very high risk of wildfires.”
The request, Montenegro clarified, was not driven by a shortage of national resources. The goal was to avoid diverting firefighting assets from one region to another while the entire mainland remained under threat.
“We believe it is better to receive support from our EU allies and closest neighbors than to divert resources from other parts of the country where they are currently deployed,” he told a news conference.
The mechanism is typically activated when Portugal’s national capacity is fully stretched. Montenegro noted, however, that the current circumstances were different, with the entire territory “being affected more or less in the same way.”
Parts of mainland Portugal are under red weather warnings issued by the national weather agency IPMA, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in some districts and expected to reach 44°C in certain areas.
The Portuguese government declared a state of alert across the entire mainland from July 3 through July 6. Authorities restricted access to forest areas, banned forestry work using machinery, and prohibited farmers from conducting controlled burns.
The government also elevated the readiness level of the GNR and PSP security forces, reinforcing surveillance, patrols, and support for civil protection operations.
More than 2,800 firefighters, backed by 864 vehicles and 32 aircraft, were battling six wildfires across the country on Friday. The largest blaze was burning in Vouzela, in the central district of Viseu.
By Saturday, the Vouzela fire had consumed 11,000 hectares. Some 1,238 firefighters, supported by 411 vehicles and six aircraft, were deployed on that front alone, according to the National Authority for Civil Protection (ANEPC).
International assistance arrived in the early hours of Saturday. Spain dispatched 120 firefighters and 45 vehicles, while Italy sent two Canadair water-bombers. Morocco was also expected to send resources under its bilateral agreement with Lisbon.
Nine people were reported injured in the last 24 hours, two of them seriously, according to ANEPC data.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the arrival of European assistance on social media, writing that “Europe stands with Portugal and its citizens.”
Morocco’s firefighting assistance to Portugal is not without precedent. In mid-August 2025, Rabat deployed Canadair planes to help combat wildfires in the north and center of the country, with the aircraft remaining on duty for several days as blazes swept through multiple fronts.
