The meeting was announced on Thursday, in a statement released by the prime minister's office after the regular weekly cabinet meeting that also said the government was declaring a state of public calamity in large swathes of the interior, in view of forecasts for conditions ideal for propagating more fires in the coming days.

“In view of the forecast for the worsening, in the coming days, in particular the weekend, of the very high and maximum risk of fire, especially in the districts in the interior in the Centre and North regions and some municipalities of Beja district and the eastern Algarve, the Government, by decree of the Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Administration, will declare the state of public calamity with preventative effects in those parts of national territory,” the statement said.

The note also announced Friday's meeting with civilian and military chiefs, saying that it was in part in order to move manpower and equipment in advance into place in the areas at most risk.

It said that the government would consult local mayors on other possible preventative measures.

The declaration of public calamity is a legal state foreseen in the law on civil defence for situations of serious accidents or catastrophes, and which includes special rules on the hiring of public works contractors and the purchase of goods and services by the authorities in responding to them.