Emergency services are under strain due to the ‘worst’ fires in Portugal in years, Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego says.

A man was killed while helping fight wildfires that have been scorching Portugal, the country's civil protection service has said, bringing the death toll from the fires to three.

Cooler conditions are helping Spanish and Portuguese firefighters tackle deadly blazes that have forced tens of thousands of people to flee over the past two weeks.

Wildfires have ravaged more than 450,000 hectares of land across the Iberian peninsula since the start of the year, setting records in a region particularly hard hit by intensive heatwaves and drought affecting southern Europe.

Wildfires are continuing in several parts of Europe, with Spain and Portugal being the worst-affected countries. Thousands of firefighters supported by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft battled over 20 major wildfires across western Spain on Monday.

It’s been even more deadly in Spain, which is experiencing some of its worst wildfires for decades, with temperatures soaring as high as 44 celsius. While the extreme weather also triggered a tornado in southern Spain.

A man was killed by his bulldozer while helping to fight wildfires in Portugal, officials said on Wednesday. The 65-year-old was trying to escape the flames in the northern municipality of Mirandela when he fell from the vehicle and was run over, according to Commander Paulo Santos of the National Civil Protection Authority.

Spain has sent 500 more troops to fight raging wildfires, bringing the total deployed to 1,900, as the death toll from the blazes has risen to four. On Sunday, a firefighter died after an accident during firefighting efforts when his truck fell down a steep hill,

Firefighters are battling 21 blazes in western Spain, while a man in Portugal was killed while fighting wildfires.

A heatwave is continuing to affect the Iberian Peninsula. Thousands of firefighters have been deployed to battle ongoing blazes and towns have been evacuated. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited affected regions to meet with the heads of emergency teams.