Forest fires on the Portuguese island of Madeira have killed four people as of the time of publishing and have forced more than 1,000 people to evacuate, according to Reuters.

Flames have spread to the tourist desitnation’s regional capital of Funchal.

Simultaneously, dozens of wildfires have been raging on the mainland of Portugal, killing one person in the central Santarem region. The fires have destroyed homes, shut major motorways for hours and forced the evacuation of several villages this week in northern Portugal, says Reuters.

The Portuguese interior ministry says it has requested help from the European Union. Neighboring Spain sent two planes and Italy one aircraft to help with the fire-extinguishing efforts, says Reuters.

Arson suspected in some fires

Police have said that various fires were lit by arsonists and they arrested several suspects. The dry summer heat has created dangerous conditions for fires to spread.

See some tweets below from residents of the devastation and why #PrayforPortugal is trending:

#Fogo #Incêndios #Luso #Anadia #PortugaldeNorteaSul #Portugal pic.twitter.com/ZS5V4nwKLa
— Miguel Freitas (@MiguelFreitas) August 10, 2016

Ashes falling from the sky. #fire #fogo #portugal pic.twitter.com/WSO9ViCpSJ
— Luisa Batista Samora (@luisasamora) August 10, 2016

The city is on fire please pray for everyone #PrayForPortugal. My heart goes out to you #Portugal pic.twitter.com/eJK1LZJsai
— Andie_0_ (@angelalston51) August 10, 2016

#PrayForPortugal if you are wondering what's happening in portugal we've been on fire for days, people are being evacuated from their homes
— pray for portugal!¡ (@purposestylesx) August 9, 2016

Special Reports /

Forest fires in Portugal kill 4, force thousands to evacuate

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