Eight fires were raging out of control, including one near the central town of Vila Nova de Paiva which has burned for over 24 hours, the civil protection agency said.

The firefighters were backed by over 160 vehicles and 20 water-dropping aircraft in their battle against the flames which threatened built-up areas in some localities, it added.

Blazes erupted across the country, facing its worst drought since 1945, on Friday with the return of temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

With temperatures expected to continue to rise, the Forest Fire Prevention Agency said most of mainland Portugal faced either a "maximum" or "very high" risk of fires on Monday, the two highest levels.

A fireman died late Saturday fighting the flames near the northern city of Vila Real and one of his colleagues suffered smoke inhalation and was hospitalized, local officials said.

The death came less than 24 hours after a firefighter was killed when the vehicle he was driving to a blaze near the central village of Ferreiros overturned.

In total eight firefighters have died battling wildfires this year, more than during the previous two years combined.

Wildfires have destroyed up to 118,000 hectares (292,000 acres) of land so far this year according to government estimates, compared to 130,000 hectares during all of 2004.

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