“When the alert was given (14:56), the fire was already very intense, working on three fronts with great intensity in an area of ??forest, eucalyptus and cork trees, in complicated and difficult terrain and with access that is not helping to facilitate the work of firefighters,”a source from the Algarve District Distress Command (CDOS) told Lusa.

Although the wind is not very intense, the fire "has several fronts", which makes it difficult for the 200 operational personnel who are trying to fight the fire in the municipality of Silves, he added.

According to the same source "there are many ways to go", in a concerted strategy to control the fire however this task "is not proving to be easy".

At the moment "there are no reports of the existence of sensitive points on the land", namely houses in danger, but it has not yet been possible to know the extent of the fronts or the burnt area.

According to the data available on the page of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection, at 17:05 there were 200 operational personnel assisted by 57 vehicles and 11 aerial means.

Today, around 40 municipalities in eight districts in the north, centre, and in the interior of the Algarve - Faro, Portalegre, Santarém, Castelo Branco, Guarda, Viseu, Vila Real and Bragança – were all at maximum fire risk, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

According to the IPMA, at least until the end of the week, the maximum and very high fire risk will remain in several counties in the continent due to the hot weather.