Autumn forest fires have raged in Portugal this week, piling on further misery in a year of some of the worst devastation from burning, a fire fighter association said today.
This week's fires, the worst in 15 years for the time of year, have ensured the continuation of Portugal's fire problems, fanned this summer by the worst drought on record.
The fires have destroyed 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres) of forests this year -- about 300,000 soccer fields -- Duarte Caldeira, head of the League of Portuguese Fire Fighters, said, making it the second worst year since records began in 1980.
"In 15 years I have never seen as many and as serious fires as during the first week of October this year," Caldeira said, according to a story published on the league's Web site.
Temperatures have risen above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in many parts of Portugal this week.
This year's fires have killed 18 people, damaged agricultural crops and caused the evacuation of dozens of villages.
The scale of the fires has prompted the government to say there was a "permanent risk" of forest fires, establish a professional fire fighting force, buy aircraft and set up a centralised command to fight forest fires.