Wildfires in Portugal blamed for at least six deaths as Europe sends aircraft to help

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Five thousand firefighters struggled Tuesday to contain multiple wildfires raging across northern Portugal that are blamed for causing at least six deaths including four firefighters and forcing an unknown number of residents to flee their homes.

Some 100 fires reported by national authorities stretched the firefighting brigades. Authorities have yet to give figures on how many people have had to evacuate and how many homes have been lost. Over 50 people have been injured.

Civil Protection official André Fernandes said that three firefighters had died while traveling by road Tuesday, but it was not known if their vehicle had crashed before it was engulfed by flames. The deaths of two civilians were confirmed, one from burns and the other from cardiac arrest, and one more firefighter died from an unspecified illness while on duty, over the weekend.

With no rain forecast, national authorities prolonged an alert for fires until Thursday. The measure included a ban on farmers using heavy machinery to harvest crops because of the risk of sparks that could start more fires.

The hot, dry conditions behind the outbreaks in Portugal came while downpours caused flooding in central Europe.

“I would like to say within a word of calm and tranquility we also need to be realistic,” Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said late on Monday. “We will endure difficult hours in the coming days. We need to prepare for it and we need to come together for it.”

Among the hardest hit areas is the district of Aveiro, south of the northern city of Porto, but blazes were also raging out of control in other wooded areas. Portuguese state broadcaster RTP showed images of houses burnt to the ground and smoke billowing over charred terrain in the area of Castro de Aire.

Ground units were supported by Portuguese water-dropping aircraft. Fellow European Union members Spain, France Italy and Greece have committed to providing eight more planes to help local forces.

“The EU stands with Portugal as it battles major wildfires,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a message on X. “I thank France, Greece, Italy and Spain for their rapid reaction. This is EU solidarity at its best.”

Still, televised images showed some residents wielding tree branches and buckets of water to try to save their homes from encroaching fires.

Portugal was devasted by massive fires in 2017 that killed over 120 people and burned over half a million hectares.

Joseph Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.

Firefighting airplanes drop water on a fire burning near houses in Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by wildfires, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Firefighters work to control a fire at a metalworking warehouse in Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Smoke fills the air in Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Firefighters work to control a fire next to warehouses in Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by wildfires fires, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Firefighters work to control a fire next to a metalworking warehouse in Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Firefighting airplanes drop water on a fire burning in Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

A man carries a fire extinguisher and seeks on the phone while a metalworking warehouse burns in Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

SEATTLE (AP) — A year ago, the New York Yankees were knocked out of playoff contention with a week to go in the regular season, ending a string of six straight postseason appearances.

Remembering what that was like made wrapping up a playoff berth with more than a week left this time around feel that much better to the Yankees.

“A lot of things have come together. Probably better health overall. Definitely an added focus for guys that were coming off tough years and simply put, we’re better. We weren’t a great team last year and this team has a chance to do something special,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.

After spending last year sitting at home when the postseason arrived, the Yankees wrapped up their place in the playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings Wednesday night.

New York has the best record in the American League at 89-63 and leads second-place Baltimore by five games in the AL East with 10 to play. The latest victory ensured the Yankees at least a wild card.

It’s the 59th postseason appearance in franchise history, but the Yankees are still trying to end a World Series drought that dates to 2009, when New York celebrated its 27th title.

Last year, the Yankees were hampered by an injury-riddled roster that was eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 24. Before that, the Yankees hadn’t missed the postseason since 2016, when Aaron Judge had just 27 games of major league experience.

Now they’re headed back to the playoffs with Judge the MVP favorite in the American League, another hitting star in Juan Soto and a starting pitching staff that might have enough depth to carry the Yankees on a deep playoff run.

“(It’ll) definitely be exciting, especially after the season we had last year missing out on the postseason,” Judge said. “That’s what we came into the season to do, get into the postseason and give ourselves an opportunity to go out there and win a World Series. That’ll be step one, but we've got to get there first.”

The task over the final stretch is making sure that return to the playoffs includes going in as champions of the AL East. The recent slump by the Orioles has opened a gap in the division race and built perhaps enough of a cushion to take some of the drama away from next week’s three-game series between the teams in the Bronx.

But it only remains stress-free as long as the Yankees don’t stumble over the next few days. After closing out the series in Seattle on Thursday, the Yankees finish up their final trip with three games in Oakland.

They hope it’s the last time they have to be away from home for a while.

“Our goal is to win the division. That’s what we want to do," Soto said. “We’re going to focus on that and try to finish the season strong.”

Soto is a big reason the Yankees are back in the playoffs and might end up with home-field advantage in the American League. While Judge is rightfully the favorite to win his second MVP in the past three seasons with 53 homers and 136 RBIs, the contributions from Soto have been equally important.

Soto reached the 40-homer mark for the first time in Tuesday’s series opener against the Mariners. It was also the 200th longball of his career, at just age 25 and heading into an offseason when he will be the top free agent. The duo will probably determine just how deep this Yankees playoff run goes.

“Getting a front-row seat this year, all year, watching him, watching him go about it, watching him day in and day out, just a great hitter,” Boone said.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

New York Yankees' Anthony Rizzo follows through on an RBI double against the Seattle Mariners during the 10th inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

New York Yankees' Anthony Rizzo reacts after hitting an RBI double against the Seattle Mariners during the 10th inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

New York Yankees' Juan Soto hits a double against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

New York Yankees' Anthony Rizzo hits an RBI single to score Jasson Domínguez against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)