"At this moment the rough estimate which we are working with is of damage in the order of 925 million euros (1.05 billion dollars)," he told reporters while on a visit to some of most hard-hit areas in the centre and south of Portugal.

"Unfortunately the calamity still has not ended, there are fires still burning, and this number will surely rise," he added, in comments broadcast on private radio TSF.

Lopes was acompanied on his visit by European Union Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou, who arrived in Portugal on Friday to inspect the fire damage.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said earlier it would back a Portuguese request to tap into a EU "solidarity fund" designed to help member states cope with natural disasters.

The Commission did not say how much money it would make available.

A total of 15 people have died in the fires, including one firefighter.

Aside from the death toll, the fires have dealt a heavy blow to Portugal's forestry industry, which accounts for 11 percent of the nation's exports.

Some 162,000 hectares (nearly 400,000 acres) of woodlands have been lost to flames so far this year, of which 80 percent was forest, according to preliminary forest service figures released Thursday.

The forest and wood products industry alone represents over three percent of gross domestic product.

Dozens of homes and farm equipment, as well as some 2,000 kilometresmiles) of power lines, have also been destroyed by the blazes.

The government said Thursday that the United States has already agreed to offer Portugal, one of western Europe's poorest nations, a yet-to-be-determined amount of financial aid to help the country cope with the fire tragedy.

Portuguese authorities declared the fires a national disaster and have offered more than 100 million euros in aid to those who have lost their homes or jobs.

The aid has been faulted for being too little but the government, which is struggling to rein in its public deficit, has said it cannot offer more.

Some 1,400 firefighters, aided by hundreds of local residents and 750 soldiers, were still battling fires on Friday, mostly in the centre of Portugal.

Many of the fires were sparked by electrical storms which swept across Portugal late on Thursday.

Firefighters said strong winds and extremely dry weather were fueling the fires.

Authorities estimate 30 percent of the fires may be criminal in origin.

TERRA.WIRE