Fires are spreading throughout Portugal, bringing terror to people living at their foot. Dozens of new blazes are raging out of control in central and southern Portugal in what has become the nation's worst ever fire season. In Mafra, around 40 kilometres northwest of Lisbon and in the southern Algarve tourist region, fires are forcing people from their homes. Fires have destroyed more than 360,000 hectares of forest this year, representing around 11 percent of the country's total, and that excludes the tens of thousands of hectares of burned agricultural land. And with a rise in temperatures expected in the coming days, the situation looks set to deteriorate. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A Portugese firefighter battles a fire. Hundreds of firefighters were battling four blazes which were burning out of control in the centre and south of Portugal on Thursday as the scorching weather returned, emergency services workers said. (AFP-LUSA/File/Vasco Celio