Some 40 fires are still active and at least seven people have died in the Aveiro region since Sunday. After the deadly fires of 2017, the country thought it had taken steps to avoid such disasters. Forest management has come under particular scrutiny.

More than 100 wildfires are stretching thousands of firefighters to the limit in northern Portugal. The country’s worst spate of fires in recent years is blamed for seven deaths since they spread out of control over the weekend.

Firefighters tackling deadly wildfires in central and northern Portugal had doused the flames in the Aveiro district, one of the worst-hit, as of Thursday, and were focusing on eight large blazes still raging elsewhere.