Istanbul, 2 August 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Firefighters in southern Europe and Turkey have largely succeeded in containing the devastating wildfires of recent days, according to reports on Saturday, though many areas were bracing for further hot, dry weather.

The situation was most difficult in northern Portugal where a fire had been raging for days near the small town of Ponte da Barca. The flames are almost under control there but the weather conditions are unfavourable, said the head of civil protection, Elisio Oliveira, on the state TV channel RTP.

A new heatwave is forecast to bring temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius in the coming days, which is also likely to affect neighbouring Spain.

A second large fire near the small Portuguese town of Arouca further south has also been brought under control.

The fires raging in southern Europe, usually a dry region in summer, have been fanned by hot and particularly dry winds that can turn the smallest acts of negligence, arson or a lightning strike into a wildfire. Such conflagrations can quickly rage out of control after days of heat that withers vegetation which then burns like tinder.

Southern Spain welcomes rain

In Cuevas del Valle, south of Ávila in Spain, firefighters were unexpectedly aided by rain and the flames were almost completely extinguished, state television channel RTVE reported.

The rainfall was like "manna from heaven," wrote the environmental department of the regional government of Castile and León on the platform X.

The second major wildfire in the country, in Las Hurdes in the Cáceres region, has also been brought under control, according to the disaster protection agency.

In Portugal and Spain, more than 70,000 hectares of forest, bush and farmland have been destroyed by fires since the beginning of the year.

Relief in Turkey

There was also a respite for firefighters in Turkey. The wildfires were largely under control on Saturday, reported the state news agency Anadolu. Isolated fires were reported from the rural region of Thrace and from Izmir but they were extinguished shortly afterwards, Anadolu wrote.

The Ministry of Forestry and Environment said more than 2,000 wildfires have broken out in Turkey this year. In the past few weeks alone, at least 14 people have died in the fires, including firefighters.

Greece, Italy on high alert

In the south of the island of Euboea, the east of Crete and also in the region around Athens, the risk of wildfires remains extremely high, according to authorities, despite recent rainfall in many areas.

The Greek fire brigade is on heightened alert, especially as high winds are forecast in some areas in the coming days - dreaded by firefighters - as strong winds drive the flames forward, complicating firefighting efforts.

The situation also remains tense in Italy, especially in the south of the country, where Sicily is particularly affected. The local forestry authority said more than 3,700 fires were recorded between May and the end of July. Several fires were also extinguished on Sardinia during the week.