Forest Fires Return To Portugal - 11% Of Forests Destroyed In 2003

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From Reuters

LISBON - "More than 1,000 firefighters battled to control forest blazes in Portugal on the weekend including two that blanketed the capital Lisbon in smoke.

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A spokesman for the National Emergency Operations Center said firefighters were trying to contain three hblazes, including one in coastal mountains about 120 miles south of Lisbon. Fires in Loures, about 10 miles north of central Lisbon, and in Mafra, about 25 miles north of the capital, wreathed Lisbon in smoke by late afternoon.

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The blazes have been fanned by heat that neared 99 degrees Fahrenheit in Lisbon on the weekend. The weather service forecast a slight drop in temperatures in coming days.

Fires have destroyed about 11 percent of Portugal's forests for the year through August 31, according to the Agriculture Ministry."

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Planet Ark