More than 343,000 hectares of land – the equivalent of nearly half a million football pitches – destroyed this year in Spain, in new record.

Thousands of firefighters worked overnight to contain dozens of deadly wildfires burning across Spain and Portugal as heat and gusty winds spread blazes through dry brush, forests and crops.

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.