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

Six firefighters have died across Spain and Portugal as the Iberian peninsula grapples with devastating wildfires exacerbated by an enduring heatwave. Thousands of firefighters have been deployed across southern Europe in recent weeks to beat back a series of deadly blazes.

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.

In neighbouring Portugal, where fires are also blazing, another firefighter was killed on Sunday in a "tragic" traffic accident, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said. Fires have also broken out in Greece, France, Turkey and the Balkans as a heatwave has scorched swathes of southern Europe.

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.

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.

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

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 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.