LISBON, Portugal — Authorities in Portugal have placed the country on high alert for wildfires amid a prolonged dry spell and unseasonably high temperatures. The government announced a civil protection alert from Wednesday through Sunday because of “a significant worsening of the wildfire risk.”The alert means exceptional measures are being enacted, including more firefighters on standby and a ban on burning cut vegetation. A typically dry easterly wind from Spain is also forecast to blow strongly in coming days. More than 100 people died in Portuguese wildfires in 2017. None died last year after the government took exceptional measures.

Source: National Post March 27, 2019 10:41 UTC