View of Choupana Hills Hotel after last night’s forest fires in Funchal, Madeira island, Portugal August 10, 2016. Flames from forest fires licked a.
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The police report alleges that the fire outbreak might have caused by a man, which actually, he is reported to have been arrested.
The fire broke in Madeira at a moment Portugal is already battling 186 fires in its mainland, mostly in the northern part of the country.
Fires also continued to rage on the Portuguese mainland for the fourth day running, as temperatures peaked at over 35 degrees Celsius in the north of the country.
Firefighters have struggled to control the blaze on the island off north-west Africa because of high temperatures and strong winds.
The National Civil Protection Service reported 14 major wildfires burning out of control in mainland Portugal where nearly 4,500 firefighters were in action in a massive operation, supported by 28 water-dumping aircraft and 1,300 vehicles.
Flights have been disrupted at Madeira airport, with United Kingdom holidaymakers facing delays returning home.
Madeira attracts more than a million visitors a year as tourism is the mainstay of its economy.
Those who evacuated were taken to an army barracks, a football stadium, and a civic centre on the island.
In a post on Facebook British tourist Cath Allen said she had been evacuated from her hotel in Funchal, after the complex’s gardens caught fire “in seconds”.
Portuguese Premier Antonio Costa has announced the deployment of military reinforcements from Lisbon and the government has activated the European Union emergency plan, securing assistance from two spanish and one Italian firefighting planes.
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The fire in Funchal was mostly under control, regional governor Miguel Albuquerque told a televised news conference, but several were still raging across the island.
