The Municipal Civil Protection said that an initial estimate of the area corresponded to around 1,500 hectares and the fire continues to burn this morning with “several hot spots” that “deserve attention”, with the “most worrying” being in the vicinity of the village of Campo de Jales.

According to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) website, at 10.30am there were 419 personnel, 130 vehicles and eight air assets tackling the blaze.

The alert for the fire was given at 17:14 on Wednesday.