A firefighter lost his life in Portugal Following his injury in trying to extinguish one of the forest fires raging in the country, the Portuguese presidency announced today.

The presidency expressed its condolences to the firefighter’s family “who lost his life tragically after a direct battle with the forest fires in the Sampugal community” in the northern part of the country. He is the fourth victim of fires this summer in Portugal.

According to Portuguese media, the 45 -year -old firefighter worked for a private fire fighting company.

Portugal, like neighboring Spain, where four people have also lost their lives, is facing devastating fires that have burned more than 600,000 acres despite the drop in temperatures that have improved the situation, according to Civil protection.

According to details of European Forestry Information System (EFFIS)almost 2,780,000 acres have become ash since the beginning of the year in Portugal.

In 2017, more than 5,630,000 acres were burned in fires caused by 119 deaths, one year after Effis began recording these data in 2006.

The Iberian peninsula has been greatly affected by climate change that causes longer heat and droughts, drying vegetation and thereby favoring forest fires, according to experts.