70 Portugal municipalities under 'maximum' fire danger level

Lisbon, Aug 8 (IANS) Portugal has registered 70 municipalities in the country's northern and central regions for "maximum danger of rural fire", the PInstitute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) reported.

In addition, the IPMA classified another 60 Portuguese municipalities as having a "very high risk of rural fire", reports Xinhua news agency

The fire risk, according to the IPMA, is classified into five levels, namely "low, moderate, high, very high, and maximum", according to calculations from the temperature and relative humidity of the air, besides the speed of wind and amount of precipitation in the last 24 hours.

The only places with forecasts of "cloudy skies and the possibility of light rain" are located on Portugal's north and central coast.

On Sunday, more than 435 operational agents, supported by 125 vehicles and 12 air assets, were fighting a major fire in the municipality of Covilha, on the border with Spain, the Portuguese Civil Protection said.

Roads in the region were cut, and three firefighters were hospitalised, the District Command of Relief Operations (CDOS) said.