[1/5] An elderly woman leaves her house as a wildfire approaches, in Cascais, Portugal, July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Pedro NunesCASCAIS, Portugal, July 25 (Reuters) - Aided by local residents, hundreds of Portuguese firefighters scrambled on Tuesday to put out flames sweeping across a natural park near the popular holiday destination of Cascais, with strong winds complicating efforts to tackle the blaze. Backed by 189 vehicles, more than 600 firefighters were brought in after the fire erupted. "They (firefighters) do what they can," said Miguel Medeiros, a local resident who has helped fight the flames. EU data shows Portugal, which has so far escaped the recent heatwave causing deaths and destruction across southern Europe, is usually one of the bloc's worst-hit countries by wildfire.

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Persons: Pedro Nunes CASCAIS, Ines Figueiredo, Cascais Carlos Carreiras, Miguel Medeiros, Catarina Demony, Miguel Pereira, Pedro Nunes, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Cascais, Portugal, Sintra, Lisbon, Europe, China, United States