Spain is battling its largest wildfire of the year, which has scorched around 29,000 hectares of land and remains out of control as a new heatwave threatens to hamper firefighting efforts.
The blaze, which broke out on Thursday about 100 kilometres north of Madrid in Guadalajara province, is considered "one of the most complex" wildfires in modern Spanish history, according to local authorities.
Around 600 firefighters and military personnel have been deployed alongside 30 aircraft to contain the fire.
The wildfire has raised serious concerns among authorities as a fresh spell of extreme heat begins on Tuesday, creating conditions conducive to the outbreak and spread of destructive fires.
Emiliano Garcia-Page, president of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, described the operation as the largest mobilisation of firefighting resources in the region's history.
He said, however, that after overnight developments, he had "started to see light at the end of the tunnel" following days of intensive efforts to contain the blaze.
Authorities said the fire is particularly difficult to combat because it is burning in a largely uninhabited and extremely dry area covered by vast stretches of abandoned scrubland, conditions that have favoured its rapid spread.
Firefighters have succeeded in preventing the blaze from advancing towards the city of Soria in the neighbouring Castilla y Leon region.
Spain recently experienced one of the deadliest wildfires in its history, when a forest fire in Andalusia claimed 13 lives and destroyed around 7,000 hectares of land.
The country has been increasingly affected in recent years by more frequent and prolonged heatwaves, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40C.
Source: AMNA
