A forest fire in central Portugal has burned approximately seven thousand hectares and caused 11 people to suffer minor injuries, while more than a thousand firefighters are still trying to extinguish it today, Sunday, according to civil protection authorities.

The head of the relief operations, José Guilherme, said, "The burned area is estimated at seven thousand hectares, but the intensity of this fire is estimated at more than twenty thousand hectares."

He also added during a press briefing in Bornsa Nova that "more than a thousand firefighters are currently trying to secure the fire, knowing that its reach has reached sixty kilometers."

He explained, "It's a vast area with a large number of isolated homes and villages," noting that firefighters are focusing their efforts on four hot spots where flames could reignite.

The fire broke out on Friday in the village of Castelo Branco and consumed about six thousand hectares in the first 24 hours, according to civil protection.

The smoke and ash resulting from the fire reached the Sanctuary of Fatima in central Portugal on Saturday, where more than two hundred thousand people gathered to welcome Pope Francis, who is visiting Portugal for World Youth Days.

Additionally, 400 firefighters are working to extinguish another fire in Odemira near the southwestern coast of the country. These firefighters had to evacuate four villages of their residents.

Thiago Bugio, a civil protection official, reported on Sunday morning that two fronts of the fire remain active, while a third front that was extending southward toward the tourist Algarve region has been brought under control.

With temperatures occasionally exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, civil protection warned on Saturday that the risk of fires would be "very high in various parts of the country in the coming days."