A fourth Portuguese firefighter died of injuries sustained battling a wildfire Saturday as Spain slowly got the upper hand over fires that have scorched vast swathes of territory.

Eight people have now died in the two countries that have been gripped by a summer of fires fuelled by heatwaves, tinderbox conditions and strong winds.

Portugal's presidency said that a firefighter had died of injuries suffered this week in Sabugal in the northeast. Media said the 45-year-old had been working for a private company battling the fires.

Spain has also counted four deaths.

But with weather conditions improving, Spanish authorities said that the tide appeared to have turned in the fight against the fires, mainly raging in the country's west and northwest.

The head of Spain's civil protection and

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