An emergency has been declared in the Porto region of Portugal, where firefighters are battling widespread wildfires.

The emergency plan was activated overnight from Sunday to Monday.

What does it mean?

The plan:

is active for 48 hours

means more personnel can be deployed

500 firefighters currently deployed near Porto, tackling 35 separate fires

2000 personnel battling 100 fires across the north of the country

500 firefighters fighting two fires in Aveiro region south of Porto

215 firefighters, 67 vehicles, two aircraft, four active fronts – Águeda

154 firefighters, 52 vehicles, two aircraft – Barcelos

In Spanish:

First big blazes of the summer

Portugal has been spared a major outbreak of forest fires so far this year.

However, strong winds and high temperatures have fanned the flames over the weekend.

Forecasters say the risk for the north of the country until Wednesday is “very high” or at its “maximum”.