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.

More than 5,000 personnel are battling a number of wildfires, the authorities said, and the prime minister called it an “extremely difficult weather situation.”

Portugal has declared a day of national mourning to mark the deaths of seven who died in wildfires that have burned through the country's west coast.