"The fires are gradually giving in to the battle, although there are still a few fronts to quell," the duty manager of the National Firefighter and Civil Protection Service, Antonio Vieira, told private radio TSF.

Vieira said there were currently only two medium-sized wildfires burning in Portugal, both of them in the south of the country.

Some 150 firefighters were battling the country's largest wildfire, which broke out near the town of Vidigal in the southern Algarve resort province on Saturday.

The Algarve receives the bulk of Portugal's summertime visitors and had so far escaped damage from wildfires which have swept through the country in recent weeks.

The other fire was near the town of Vinagra, located some 230 kilometres (140 miles) southeast of Lisbon.

Hundreds of firefighters were still on the alert across Portugal for flare-ups of contained blazes or signs of new ones.

Firefighters on Saturday said cooler overnight temperatures combined with a rise in air moisture levels had helped them tame the blazes.

The weather may give firefighters yet another boost on Sunday as forecasters are calling for rain in the north and centre of the country, which has been especially hard-hit by the fires.

Roughly 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of woodland have been lost to flames so far this year, most of it since July, a forest service estimate released on Friday said.

But forestry experts, who have studied satellite images of the fire damage, told daily newspaper Publico on Sunday the total burnt area is likely to be at least 300,000 hectares.

Forest industries such as pulp, paper and cork account for three percent of Portugal's gross domestic product (GDP) and 11 percent of the nation's exports.

The blazes, which were fueled by extremely hot weather and strong winds, have also disrupted power supplies and phone services, cut roads and destroyed dozens of homes.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said Friday it could provide immediate help for urgent needs, such as the clearing of roads and the restoration of electrical power, but needed concrete proposals from Lisbon before it could provide longer-term assistance.

Portugal, now facing a long road to recovery of its natural resources, is also strapped with a recession and a public deficit which threatens to once again violate EU budget rules.

Police have detained 52 suspected arsonists across the country in recent weeks as part of their investigation into the wildfires, which have been described as Portugal's worst fire tragedy.

Authorities suspect 30 percent of the fires were deliberately set.

TERRA.WIRE