NODEIRINHO, Portugal — Constantino Gracieta and his wife were among the lucky ones. At first, they got in their car and tried to escape the advancing flames that swept across a vast, dry forest in central Portugal over the weekend.

But finding the road that cuts through their hamlet, Mosteiro, engulfed by fire, they turned back and began to hose down their house instead.

“People fought to save their houses,” Mr. Gracieta said. “I knew that, with the road completely cut and the whole forest on fire, firefighters were never going to get here quick enough to help us.”

At least 64 people were not as fortunate, perishing in the wildfire, many of them while in their cars trying to flee. With 135 people injured, the authorities warned that the death toll could still rise from the fire, which started on Saturday, apparently ignited by lightning strikes.