Fires rage in southern Europe

Hundreds of people have been evacuated in villages and wildlife reserves in northern Portugal and Spain.

A forest fire fanned by shifting gusts of wind killed two firemen in Spain. The blaze broke out Thursday night near a village of some 2,000 people in Pontevedra province.

The fires which have now been brought under control have left over 250 acres of forest burnt and blackened.

Meanwhile in neighbouring Portugal, rescue workers evacuated some 100 people from the Peneda-Geres National Park as wildfires in the north of the country intensified despite non-stop efforts by more than a thousand firefighters.

Interior Minister Rui Pereira told a news briefing the situation in the arid northern woodlands "is comparable to a true theatre of war".

In total, fire brigades were combating more than 30 fires in Portugal on Thursday afternoon.

Officials said some 120 firemen with 20 trucks and four aircraft were working to put out the flames that threatened the homes of those evacuated in Vilar de Soente.

Forest fires are common in Portugal and southern Europe in the summer months. Almost 10,000 fighters and 56 aircraft are on standby to deal with them this year.