Firefighters in Spain, Portugal and Greece battled ongoing wildfires Friday, an important religious holiday in all three countries, as persistent hot, dry conditions challenged efforts to contain the blazes.

Portugal suffered its first death Friday from the fires raging there, as Spain's weather agency warned of a "very high to extreme risk" of more wildfires there during Europe's intense heatwave. The risk of fires on Friday and over the weekend through to Monday was "very high or extreme in most of the country",

Thousands of firefighters in Spain and Portugal battled several wildfires Thursday ahead of an expected rise in temperatures that could worsen the situation on the Iberian Peninsula. In central Spain,