Inferno by the sun loungers: Smoke rises in the distance before wildfire destroys hotel as 1,000 firefighters battle to bring fires under control in Portugal

Wildfires continue to ravage large parts of Portugal and more than 1,000 firefighters are fighting to prevent them from spreading further into the Algarve’s popular tourist hub.

Dramatic footage from the neighboring Alentejo region shows plumes of smoke rising above poolside sunbeds as infernos raged in the distance before the hotel went up in flames.

Fires first hit nearby Odemira, a picturesque town with a large community of foreigners, five days ago.

They then spread south towards the Algarve, aided by scorching temperatures and high winds, threatening properties last night.

At least 1,500 people have been evacuated from homes, campsites and holiday parks in recent days.

More than 1,100 firefighters, 360 vehicles and 14 aircraft were deployed to fires near Odemira on Wednesday morning, according to the National Civil Protection Service.

Most of the main building of the Teima Alentejo guest house was said to have been destroyed by flames on Saturday

Teima Alentejo SW, an award-winning country hotel, before it was reportedly destroyed by flames

Personnel from the Protection and Relief Intervention Group (GIPS), specializing in forest fire fighting, arrive to fight a wildfire in Reguengo in the southern district of Portalegre

Nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) have been blackened since Saturday, said Vitor Vaz Pinto of the civil protection agency

It is estimated that more than 100,000 Britons will visit the Algarve in the coming weeks.

Holiday companies are constantly monitoring the situation following the devastation of holiday resorts by fires on the Greek island of Rhodes last month.

On Saturday, one of Portugal’s best rural hotels fell victim to the most intense fires in the south of the Alentejo, not far from the Algarve.

The owner of Teima Alentejo SW exposed the devastation of her holiday home overnight when she criticized the authorities’ response to the drama.

Luisa Botelho and her ex-husband Paulo Camacho turned it into an award-winning country hotel after buying the property nearly a decade ago.

It is now believed that most of the main building was destroyed by flames.

Nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) have been blackened since Saturday, said Vitor Vaz Pinto of the civil protection agency, adding that the fire was still spreading “on two fronts.”

Local media reported that a house and a rural tourist residence had been destroyed, which had not yet been confirmed by authorities.

Hélder Guerreiro, the mayor of Odemira, described the situation as “critical, difficult and complex.”

Nineteen villages, four tourist accommodation plots and a campsite have been evacuated and roads have been closed, authorities said.

Ana Costa, a farmer in the region, said of the fires: ‘It was terrible, there were flames everywhere and we had to scramble. There was no one to help us, luckily I had three friends who came to help.’

About 40 people, including 28 firefighters, were treated urgently.

A separate wildfire that has already devastated about 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) in Leiria, central Portugal, calmed somewhat on Monday.

Damage to a popular B&B in the south of Portugal, where fire has been raging for five days

A firefighter plane drops water over a forest fire in Odeceixe, southern Portugal, on Aug. 8

Nearly 2,800 firefighters and 16 water bombers were in action nationwide on Tuesday.

Weather warnings remained in effect in both Portugal and Spain.

Much of the southern half of Spain was on orange alert on Tuesday, with the weather service saying temperatures were expected to top 44C on Tuesday and Wednesday in what are expected to be the strongest days of this heat wave, the third in the country this year.

Trees burn in a forest fire, as pictured from the A1 motorway in the town of Cardosos, which cut the motorway this afternoon, Leiria

Firefighters try to extinguish the flames in the municipality of Odemira, August 7, 2023

The Spanish measurement agency (AEMET) issued maximum red alerts for parts of Andalusia in the south, the Madrid region in the center and the Basque Country in the far north.

In Spain, more than 1,000 hectares of land were destroyed by flames last weekend.

A fourth major wildfire broke out Monday in Estremadura, central Spain, near the border with Portugal. The fire brigade could not contain it from one day to the next.

According to preliminary estimates, wildfires have destroyed a total of 100,000 hectares of land in the Iberian Peninsula this year. This comes on top of the record 400,000 hectares destroyed last year.