Late this morning, an area of forest in the Valongo region in the borough of Porto came the first ‘major occurrence’ to be registered on firewatchers’ website fogo.pt.
Since then others have been flagged, some in Porto, others scattered around central areas and parts of the interior.
The worst of the fires were being tackled with a combination of air support, fire engines and scores of firefighters.
The outbreak in Valongo, shortly after 11.30, became active on two fronts, but has since been brought under control and is now in the ‘resolution period’.
Up till mid-afternoon, no significant outbreaks were affecting the Algarve although four boroughs are on ‘maximum alert’: Loulé, São Brás de Alportel, Tavira and Alcoutim.
The government’s moratorium on any kind of activity that could spark a fire remains in place (click here), with INEM weather authority advising that cooler temperatures are on the way.
