The death toll is now at two in Portugal and four in Spain as the fires burn for a second week, according to AFP. The fires are largely located in the northwest regions of Galicia, Castile and León, and Extremadura. More than 31,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes in Spain due to the fires, according to The Guardian .

Spain recently made EU history when it made its first request ever for wildfire response reinforcements from the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism. In response to Spain’s activation, the European Commission has mobilized two rescEU planes stationed in France, with the expectation of deploying to Spain on Aug. 14.

It’s been even more deadly in Spain, which is experiencing some of its worst wildfires for decades, with temperatures soaring as high as 44 celsius. While the extreme weather also triggered a tornado in southern Spain.

Cooler conditions are helping Spanish and Portuguese firefighters tackle deadly blazes that have forced tens of thousands of people to flee over the past two weeks.

Wildfires raging in northern and western Spain have burned through nearly the same area in the past 24 hours as in all of last year, although the end of a 16-day heatwave and expected rainfall have fanned hopes that an end may be in sight.

Spain's weather agency warned the public on Monday to be "cautious" of the "very high or extreme fire danger."

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The key to preventing forest fires is creating a rural economy based on the use of forests. While this would generate much-needed employment in “la España vaciada” – “hollowed-out Spain”, the name given to the country’s depopulated rural areas – it also costs money. It is therefore essential to invest in forests.