The fires have ravaged small, sparsely populated towns in the country's northwest, forcing locals in many cases to act as firefighters. About 2,382 square miles have burned across Spain and Portugal.

The key to preventing forest fires is creating a rural economy based on the use of forests. While this would generate much-needed employment in “la España vaciada” – “hollowed-out Spain”, the name given to the country’s depopulated rural areas – it also costs money. It is therefore essential to invest in forests.

High winds on Wednesday hampered efforts to contain wildfires in Spain that have already scorched a record stretch of land despite lower temperatures, authorities said."Temperatures have dropped, but strong gusts of wind continue to hinder firefighting efforts,

This year is turning into one of the worst fire seasons in recent memory in Europe. Firefighters are struggling to contain out-of-control wildfires in western Spain and Portugal.

This combination has resulted in the most severe wave of summer wildfires Spain has seen since 1994, when 437,602 hectares burned, according to data from the Ministry of the Environment. The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), part of the EU ...

Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.

VILLANUEVA DE LA SIERRA, Spain, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Spain battled 14 major fires driven by high winds and aggravated by heat on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle flames that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London.