‘Absolute chaos’: counting the cost of a deadly wildfire in northern Portugal

Residents of Albergaria-a-Velha tell of the fear and losses brought by a blazethat evoked memories of 2017 disasterThe fires are out in Albergaria-a-Velha now, their embers washed away by the heavy rain. But their reek still carries on the damp air, rising from the sooty earth, the scorched tree trunks, the burnt-out cars and houses, and the puddles of black and acrid water.If the numbers offer a glimpse of the toll that last week’s wildfires took on this northern Portuguese municipality &