Five members of the same family were killed by forest fires that ravaged Spain Monday as forecasters predicted there would be some relief from Europe's sizzling heatwave by the end of the week.

The five were killed as they apparently tried to flee the flames that had encircled their home. They were the country's first victims of the fires that have devastated parts of the continent in recent weeks.

A forest fire rages near the town of Sant Llorenc Savall, in northeastern Spain August 11, 2003. The raging forest fires of recent weeks claimed their first victims in Spain when five people from the same family were found dead, apparently after trying to flee their home which was surrounded by flames. The fire in Sant Llorenc Savall has forced about 500 people to evacuate their homes and has burned approximately 3,250 acres of forest. [Reuters]

In neighboring Portugal, which has been worst affected by the blazes, four villages in the Algarve resort region were evacuated because of a fire that more than 200 firefighters have been battling to control for three days.

Germany too struggled to contain blazes. In Jueterbog in the eastern state of Brandenburg, emergency services said up to 250 acres of forest was burning.

A forest fire rages near the town of Sant Llorenc Savall, in northeastern Spain August 11, 2003. The raging forest fires of recent weeks claimed their first victims in Spain when five people from the same family were found dead, apparently after trying to flee their home which was surrounded by flames. The fire in Sant Llorenc Savall has forced about 500 people to evacuate their homes and has burned approximately 3,250 acres of forest. [Reuters]

But weather forecasters said the hot, dry weather that has claimed dozens of lives was expected to break by the weekend.

"We're going to see a complete change, with a definite drop (in temperatures) Friday and a little more Saturday," a spokeswoman for Portugal's weather service said.

Spain's weather service said there would be another week of heat before a cold front moved in from the Atlantic.

Parisians woke to a few drops of rain after one of the warmest nights on record, with 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) at midnight (2200 GMT). The temperature dipped briefly to 25.5 degrees Celsius (77.9 Fahrenheit), the highest night-time "low" since records began 130 years ago.

Dalil Boubakeur, head of the French capital's Grand Mosque, urged followers to join special prayers for rain Friday.

"The Paris Mosque fully shares the suffering of the population and addresses its prayers to God to have mercy on all the weakened, the ill and the victims of the heatwave," he said in a statement.

The prolonged drought has depleted rivers and lakes, causing problems for shipping and threatening output by hydro-electric and nuclear power plants.

Croatia is experiencing water shortages along the southern Adriatic coast and islands. Some islands, like Pag and Vis, have already experienced cuts in water supplies.

In Britain, which had its hottest day on record Sunday, the weather was causing problems at the start of the traditional grouse shooting season.

"The grouse just don't like flying when it is so hot. They just hunker down in the heather," said Amanda Anderson of the Moorland Association on the eve of the "Glorious Twelfth."

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