On Saturday, a rampant wildfire consumed a long stretch of road in central Portugal, so far taking the lives of 61 and injuring at least 54 others, including eight firefighters and a child.
The fire has brought “a dimension of human tragedy that we cannot remember,” Prime Minister António Costa said when he visited a burned area around Pedrógão Grande.
At least 30 of the fatalities were motorists who were trapped in their cars and burned to death.
The blaze, which was still ignited on Sunday afternoon, has been described by officials as “the greatest wildfire tragedy of recent years.” The government has declared three days of mourning after the devastation.
“It is a time of pain but also … a time to carry on the fight” against the flames, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in a televised address Sunday.
Officials claimed the blaze was initially started by natural causes.
“We have been able to determine that the origin of the fire was caused by dry thunderstorms,” José Maria Almeida Rodrigues, the head of Portugal’s judiciary police, told reporters.
Dry thunderstorms occur when rain water evaporates before it reaches the ground during excessively high temperatures. Portugal is vulnerable to wildfires during the dry summer months when temperatures can reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
At least four other wildfires were burning Sunday in Portugal. However, the one in Pedrógão Grande was responsible for the high death toll.
The areas were “completely surrounded” by the blaze and not enough firefighters were able to tame it, according to the municipality’s mayor, Valdemar Alves.
About 700 firefighters, who have been struggling to combat the intense fire, were accompanied by over 350 soldiers on Sunday. Interior Ministry official Jorge Gomez said authorities were worried that the strong winds would spread the blaze even further.
Schools in the municipalities of Pedrogão, Figueiró and Castanheira have been closed until further notice.
“This is a region that has had fires because of its forests, but we cannot remember a tragedy of these proportions,” Alves said. “I am completely stunned by the number of deaths.”
