Forests/ country trails off limits through Portugal’s ‘scorcher’ of a weekend

With temperatures in many districts nudging 40ºC without a hint of any cooling breeze, the government has declared various exceptional measures for the weekend, including the prohibition of people ‘circulating’ in forest areas or on country trails. Practices like fishing or hunting that might have gone ahead in these kind of rural settings are equally off limits until Monday as is any kind of forestry/ agricultural work with machinery that could cause sparks and set off a wildfire. All police forces, backed by the Armed Forces and forestry sappers are on special alert. So far, so good. Fires that have begun have been being tackled promptly. At time of writing a fire had just been reported in Portimão (for updates see Facebook page alerta de incendio florestal/ forest fire alert) while another was underway in the north near Carregal do Sal. For an up-to-date picture of the country see: fogos.pt