Eleven New Fires Break Out in Portugal

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Eleven new fires broke out Friday afternoon in Portugal, after firefighters had tamed several other forest blazes that were burning across the country, officials said.

Fires had flared up in the southern, central and northern districts of Faro, Santarem, Coimbra, Vila Real, Leiria, Guarda and Braga.

Altogether some 459 firefighters, supported by 119 fire trucks and 11 water tankers, were fighting the blazes.

Weather services were forecasting a continued dip in temperatures in coming days, although they were expected to soar again next week.

This summer's wildfires have killed 15 people, charred thousands of acres (hectares) of forest and agricultural land, destroyed dozens of houses and driven hundreds from their homes.

Negligence and failure to clean up forests are the main cause of fires, 11 of them firefighters, with only 20 percent of them being caused by arsonists, a Diario de Noticias newspaper report said on Friday. Still, police had so far arrested 126 people on suspicion of arson since the beginning of the year.

On Thursday, police said they arrested a 24-year-old bricklayer for allegedly starting one of several parts of a massive fire in the central Coimbra district.

Police said Friday they would set up an arson database with information on individuals arrested for starting fires, as well as a special laboratory to analyze arson-related issues. Both would be running next year, police said.