Hundreds of firefighters were battling 18 wildfires, 12 burning out of control, in central and northern Portugal on Sunday in blistering heat, emergency services said.
Ten of the country's 18 regions were hit.
In Santarem alone, north of the capital Lisbon, where temperatures reached 42 degrees Celsius (108 Fahrenheit), 115 fire fighters were trying to control three separate outbreaks, backed by 43 vehicles and a water-dropping helicopter.
Portugal's government has put exceptional measures in place this year in the face of the threat from wildfires, which have ravaged hundreds of thousands of hectares over recent summers.
Saturday was the worst day so far this summer with 422 fires.
During the night a chemical products factory at Samora Correia north of Lisbon went up in flames and about 10 firefighters were affected by fumes. lf/sj/cc
