Wildfires in Portugal Burn Homes, Threaten 20 More

At least four houses burned and 20 were threatened by a number of out-of-control wildfires burning in central and northern regions of Portugal.

The Iberian country has asked the EU to send it more fire-fighting planes as firefighters are still battling at least 15 blazes including one that burned houses on the outskirts of the town of Albergaria-a-Velha.

More than 800 firefighters were battling that fire and three others in the northwestern Aveiro district, where police shut motorways - including a stretch of the main highway between Lisbon and Porto - and evacuated several villages.

In total, officials said 1,500 firefighters were engaged across the country, where temperatures topped 30 degrees Celsius over the weekend and were expected to stay high.

Authorities said they had deployed eight water-bombing aircraft in that district. The government requested eight more aircraft from the European Commission under the EU civil protection mechanism known as RescEU.

More than 5,000 firefighters have been tackling wildfires that Portugal's Prime Minister has said are "raging across the country".

At least two people have died due to the fires, according to local media reports.

Portuguese authorities say there is the highest possible risk of wildfires breaking out across many central and northern regions of the country through to Wednesday - with the threat remaining "very high" until Friday.

Ten thousand hectares have already been burned between Porto and Aveiro in the north, the Portuguese news agency Lusa said.

Local media reports that hospitals in affected areas have received people with burns, breathing difficulties and other injuries from the fires.

At least 12 firefighters have been injured, two seriously.

The EU will send eight firefighting planes to Portugal to help the country tackle the severe blazes. Portugal already owns 30 water bombers - and has deployed over 1,500 fire engines.