Aid relief for scorched Portugal

Firefighters are still trying to keep some blazes under control

The Portuguese Government has received its first pledges of aid to help the country recover from the worst forest fires in living memory.

The European Union agreed to back a request from Lisbon to release funds, as Interior Minister Antonio Figueiredo Lopes estimated the damage caused by the fire at almost 1bn euros.

Fifteen people have died in the blazes, and while most major fires are under control firefighters are still battling to prevent new outbreaks.

Forestry officials say around 3% of the country's forests have been destroyed in the past two weeks.

Meanwhile meteorologists predict that the heatwave, with temperatures of around 35-40C, will continue throughout Europe into the weekend.

Across the continent more than 35 people have now died as a result of the searing heat or deadly fires.

'Positive response'

Portuguese officials say the US Government has pledged aid to help those who have suffered in the fires, although they cannot yet give a figure.

And EU Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou, who visited the sites of several fires on Friday said aid would soon be provided from a special fund set up to help member states deal with natural disasters.

Europe's scorching summer

In pictures

"The European Commission is committed to act rapidly in this crisis situation," she said. "All preparations for the use of the solidarity fund are under way."

The Portuguese Red Cross has been charged with co-ordinating aid money, both domestic and foreign.

The government says it has had a positive response to all requests for help made to outside entities, including Nato - which is to provide operational support - and the European Union.

Most of the fires that have devastated Portugal's forests in the past week are now under control, several more started on Thursday.

Temperatures in the interior are set to remain at more than 40C in the next few days and more fires are expected.

In other parts of Europe:

• Swiss ornithologists say the heat is encouraging some threatened species of bird to reproduce faster
  

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• The waters of the Mediterranean Sea have reached their highest temperatures for 45 years - 32C
• Authorities in Switzerland have reported signs that Alpine ice caps are melting, raising fears of landslides as rock faces are dislodged
• Water shortages have been reported along the Adriatic coast of Croatia and Montenegro
• Farmers in Brittany say at least 100,000 animals, mainly poultry, have died in the heat and fire services have been called out to douse chicken sheds with water
• An Austrian specialist advised couples to restrict sexual activity to night time to avoid increasing the risk of heart attacks
• French vineyards have begun harvesting grapes a week early because their sugar content has been increased prematurely by the strong sunlight.

Arrests

The Portuguese Government has now extended the status of "public calamity" to two more districts, meaning that councils, individuals and companies in eight of the country's 18 districts can now claim special compensation for losses.

There have been forest fires in seven other districts too.

Meanwhile, police have arrested more than 30 people in connection with suspected arson attacks.

The BBC's Alison Roberts in Lisbon says many members of the public are convinced that almost all the recent fires were started deliberately, and the pressure is on the authorities to catch the suspects.

But civil defence chiefs said most of the fires were caused by lightning.

Given that a high proportion of blazes in Portugal are caused by negligence, our correspondent says, there is a need for good forest management and effective public information campaigns.