'You can't take risks': Portugal's lonely lookouts stand guard against wildfires

With temperatures hitting 47C, sentries who staff the country's watchtowers say even a wisp of smoke can mean disasterThere's smoke on the horizon. From inside a small tower, perched on the summit of the Serra de Sao Mamede mountain in eastern Portugal, Anacleto Caldeira Velez observes it closely through binoculars, before radioing down to base. "It's probably a barbecue," says the 60-year-old, after putting down the transmitter, seemingly unalarmed by this early morning's findings."Still, you can't take any risks. My job is to keep watch for this type of thing day and night. If I see smoke I signal it, however insignificant it may seem. When land is this dry, an unextinguished cigarette can blow into an inferno in minutes." Continue reading...