Spain deploys extra 500 soldiers to tackle major wildfires – with weather ‘not on our side’

Spain has deployed another 500 soldiers to battle wildfires that have spread across parts of the country in scorching conditions – taking the total to 1,900.

The fires have burned 158,000 hectares so far this year, according to the EU’s European forest fire information system – an area roughly as big as metropolitan London – and three people have died in the last week.

Up to 20 major wildfires are burning, including several in Spain‘s northwestern region of Galicia. Some have converged to form a large blaze, forcing the closure of roads and rail services.

Part of the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route was closed on Monday as the fire spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountain range.

Authorities shut the path between the towns of Astorga and Ponferrada, about 30 miles (50km) apart,
and told hikers “not to put (their) lives in danger”.

“This is a fire situation we haven’t experienced in 20 years,” defence minister Margarita Robles told radio station
Cadena SER.

Four firefighters have been killed, including one on Sunday whose truck overturned and fell down a hillside near the village of Espinoso de Compludo, in the Leon region, reported El Mundo.

Two water-dumping planes from the Netherlands are expected to join aircraft from France and Italy already helping Spanish authorities.

Firefighters from other countries are also set to arrive in the coming days, Civil Protection Agency chief Virginia Barcones told public broadcaster RTVE.

The agency posted on X on Sunday night to say two more people had been arrested on suspicion of starting fires.

Several dozen people have been arrested for suspected arson since June, according to the interior ministry.

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Southern Europe is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in 20 years, with Spain among the hardest-hit countries.

While Southern Europe lived through wildfires, droughts and heatwaves long before humans started to change the climate by burning fossil fuels, hotter global temperatures can supercharge some of the conditions for these types of extreme weather, according to climate scientists.

Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also requested help from the EU’s firefighting force in recent days.

Thousands of firefighters are also battling eight large blazes in central and northern Portugal, the largest of them near the mountainous area of Piodao.

The smoke from the wildfires in Spain and Portugal also recently brought hazy conditions to the UK.

Portugal is set for cooler weather in the coming days, but temperatures were expected to reach up to 45C (113F) in some areas of Spain on Sunday.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said there remained “some challenging days ahead and, unfortunately, the weather is not on our side”.

Alfonso Rueda, head of the Galician regional government, said lockdowns were in place and evacuations were being carried out, with homes “still under threat”.