Illuminated by flames, Spanish firefighters battle wildfires that have been raging throughout the country's west and northwest for over a week. The bulk of the devastation -- with 373,000 hectares burnt -- has taken place in the northwestern provinces of Zamora and Leon,

It also exceeds the area burned in 2023 - 91,220 hectares in 371 fires - and far exceeds the figures recorded in 2022, until now considered the worst year in terms of area burned by forest fires in the country: 306,555 hectares in 493 fires.

Joaquín Ramírez of Technosylva, a Spanish company that specialises in prevention and response to wildfires, attributed this year’s litany of fires to “a combination of abandonment of rural areas, abandonment of managing [the land] and the stress exerted on our forest areas”.

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.

In neighbouring Portugal, where fires are also blazing, another firefighter was killed on Sunday in a "tragic" traffic accident, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said. Fires have also broken out in Greece, France, Turkey and the Balkans as a heatwave has scorched swathes of southern Europe.

Defence minister attributes fires to climate change, heat wave. The Interior ministry said 27 people have been arrested and 92 were under investigation for suspected arson since June.

King Felipe of Spain was forced to cut his summer vacation short this week to deal with a national emergency back at home.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has interrupted his summer holiday to visit regions hit hardest by severe wildfires in the country's north-west. Sánchez was due to travel on Sunday afternoon to the provinces of Ourense and León,