Widespread drought in Portugal has been the main culprit in the spate of dangerous wildfires that have plagued the country this past summer. On Sunday, October 8, over 1,000 firefighters were battling five wildfires across the country with many, many more smaller fires also burning but not enough manpower to fight them all.
Near Arganil, noted on the image, a fire devil was captured on camera by a Portuguese camera crew. A fire devil is a very rare type of weather phenomenon that is formed when dust and flames are caught by the wind and create a spiral around a core of ash. This phenomenon can last for an hour or more and generate wind speeds in excess of 100 mph. Like a regular tornado, a fire tornado is extremely dangerous, but unlike a regular tornado, one built on fire will incinerate anything in its path.
This summer has been particularly bad for wildfires in Portugal, in fact, in August, the Civil Protection Agency recorded a single day record for the year of 268 separate fires. The agency added in its reporting that 90 per cent of the fires were either intentionally or accidentally started by people.
Wildfires in Portugal this year have accounted for more than one-third of all wildfires that have broken out in the European Union.
The Suomi NPP satellite’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument captured a look at multiple fires and smoke burning in Portugal on October 08, 2017. Actively burning areas, detected by VIIRS are outlined in red. The Suomi NPP satellite is a joint mission between NASA, NOAA and the U.S. Department of Defense.
NOAA/NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner