The fire started at around 1:50 pm and is “burning very intensely, with three active fronts: one heading towards the village of Pastoria [in Chaves], another towards the A24 motorway and another towards the village of Sapelos [in the municipality of Boticas]”, Ricardo Rebelo, deputy commander of the Chaves Public Safety Volunteer Fire Brigade, told Lusa.

The flames have already threatened “two cattle farms between villages [in the municipality] of Boticas”, with no reports of homes being affected.

In an update at 16:30, the officer said that “reinforcements” had been requested, with “Portuguese and Spanish” aircraft fighting the flames.

According to a source from the GNR, by 4:25 pm there were no roads closed or blocked in the area of the fire, following a brief closure of the National Road (EN) 103, which had since been reopened to traffic.

According to information available on the website of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), at 4:30 pm, 126 firefighters, 30 ground vehicles and eight aerial resources had been mobilised at the scene of the rural fire.