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.

Spain was fighting 14 major fires, according to Virginia Barcones, general director of emergency services. Temperatures were expected to climb over the weekend.

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",