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PORTUGALFriends in need, friends indeed No longer able to cope with the more than 25 wind-fanned fires burning through forest and farmland in its worst drought in years, the government called on the European Union for help. Firefighting aircraft from other western European nations started operations Aug. 23. "I welcome the speed with which member states have been able to respond to the urgent request," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso from his home in Portugal. Some 2,000 firefighters, supported by 800 firetrucks and 30 aircraft were fighting the flames, which had claimed 14 lives. Wildfires have so far burned through 140,000 hectares, already more than the total area burned last year. In 2003, the worst in the last two decades, the blazes burned 425,000 hectares.
The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 27, 2005 |
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