LISBON, Portugal -- More than 100 wildfires stretched thousands of firefighters to the limit in northern Portugal on Wednesday, with seven deaths since the worst spate of fires in recent years spread out of control over the weekend.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Five thousand firefighters struggled Tuesday to contain multiple wildfires raging across northern Portugal that are blamed for causing at least six deaths including four firefighters and forcing an unknown number of residents to flee their homes.

Several people have lost their lives in forest fires that have been raging in Portugal since the weekend. Thousands of firefighters have been deployed to combat the flamesThree firefighters died Tuesday as dozens of wildfires raged in the central and northern regions of Portugal.