Campers fled in their droves while locals grabbed their pets and ran from their homes as a 45C heatwave sparked huge wildfires that threatened to engulf Europe.
Thousands of firefighters battled more than 20 blazes raging across Portugal and western Spain on Wednesday.
At least 135 people have suffered mainly minor injuries since wildfires began in Portugal last week and about 800 people have been evacuated from their homes.
In Santiago de Guarda in the central Portuguese district of Leiria, Albertina Francisco struggled to hold back tears as a cloud of black smoke billowed over the tiny village.
“It was very hard,” said Francisco, 42, who was helping her sick sister evacuate.
“Nobody helped - the firefighters and the (water-bomber) aircraft only got here now... The state must do more to help us.”
Some villagers rescued pets while others helped firefighters battle the flames.
Meanwhile in France, hundreds of firefighters - supported by six water-bomber aircraft - battled two wildfires in the southwest which prompted the evacuation of thousands of campers.
As many as 6,000 people were evacuated from five campsites after a fire broke out close to the iconic “Dune du Pilat” - the tallest sand dune in Europe.
They were taken to a local exhibition centre for shelter.
“Other campers woke us up at around 4.30 in the morning. We had to leave immediately and quickly choose what to take with us,” Christelle, one of the evacuated tourists, told BFM TV.
The highest temperature in Spain on Wednesday stood at 45.6 C in Huelva province.
In Britain, a series of hot weather warnings have been issued with the extreme temperatures considered a “threat to life”.
With human-caused climate change triggering droughts, the number of extreme wildfires is expected to increase 30% within the next 28 years, according to a February 2022 U.N. report.
