“The most active front is moving towards the town of Cabreira, in the municipality of Almeida, but the men on the ground are doing an effective job. The fight is also progressing well in the Castanheira area, in the municipality of Guarda,” the second sub-regional commander of Emergency and Civil Protection of Beiras and Serra da Estrela told the Lusa news agency.

Marco Lucas added that “the fight is proving more difficult in the Rabaça area, also in the municipality of Guarda, where the fire is progressing in areas that are difficult to access.”

“We hope that the reinforcement of aircraft can help control the situation on this front.”

The second sub-regional commander of Emergency and Civil Protection for Beiras and Serra da Estrela also said that there is no estimate of the burned area and that there are no houses or villages threatened.

"The wind will increase in the coming hours, and this may hinder the fight, especially in the Rabaça region. But we are counting on the intervention of aerial resources to be decisive," he said.

The fire started in the early afternoon on 27 July in the Union of Parishes of Rochoso and Monte Margarida, on the border of the municipality of Guarda with the municipalities of Almeida and Sabugal.

The alert for the occurrence was given at 1:51 pm, according to the website of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC).

According to a source from the Sub-regional Command of Emergency and Civil Protection of Beiras and Serra da Estrela, five firefighters suffered minor injuries on Monday night while fighting the flames.