PARIS (AP) – The Latest on wildfires in southern France, Italy and Portugal (all times local): 6:15 p.m. Emergency services in Portugal are getting no respite from wildfires that are charring wide areas of forest – and the huge billowing clouds of smoke they are generating are making visibility too poor to use water-dropping aircraft. More than 2,300 firefighters with more than 700 vehicles are battling 13 blazes. The flames are being driven by powerful winds across steep hillsides of dense pine and eucalyptus forest Wednesday. The worst-hit areas are in the center of Portugal, 200 kilometers (125 miles) northeast of Lisbon. The fires briefly forced the evacuation of some hamlets there and the closure of a section of the A23 highway. Portugal’s peak fire season, which usually occurs after July 1, began early this year amid a severe drought. Last month, 64 people died in a wildfire. ___ 3:50 p.m. More than 2,000 firefighters are battling nine major wildfires in Portugal, where drought conditions, high temperatures and strong winds are fueling the flames. Almost 1,000 other firefighters are conducting mopping-up operations at 37 other Portuguese woodland blazes Wednesday. Ash floated in the air and vast plumes of smoke covered areas of central Portugal, in the area around Serta, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) northeast of Lisbon. The Civil Protection Agency said 24 water-dropping aircraft were in action. Serta is close to Pedrogao Grande, where 64 people died in a wildfire last month. No injuries have been reported in recent days as the blazes raced through thick eucalyptus and pine forests. Large wildfires are a common occurrence in summer in Portugal, where thousands of firefighters are on duty in the summer months. ___ 3 p.m. Albania’s interior ministry says that some 130 firefighters are battling 18 fire spots around the country Wednesday. Spokesman Ardian Bita says fires are…