PENALVA DO CASTELO, Portugal –
At least two people died as wildfires raged in central and northern Portugal on Monday, forcing authorities to evacuate villages, close motorways and ask the European Union to send more water-bombing aircraft.
The situation was most dangerous in the northwestern Aveiro district where one forest blaze reached the outskirts of the town of Albergaria-a-Velha and burned several houses, the mayor said.
More than 1,100 firefighters were battling that fire and three others in the surrounding area. Police shut a stretch of the main highway between Lisbon and Porto as thick smoke blanketed the area.
Police said officers had found the remains of a man who had apparently been working for a forestry company nearby.
In the same area, another person died of a heart attack as the fire approached, and two people were in hospital …