Officials said a wildfire in southern Spain on Thursday forced hundreds of people to evacuate, and firefighters affected by strong winds are trying to control the wildfire.
The Andalusian regional government said in a statement that about 250 firefighters, supported by 26 water drop aircraft, are fighting the fire that broke out in the Sierra Bermeja mountains in the southern province of Malaga later on Wednesday.
The emergency services department stated that as a precautionary measure, about 800 people were evacuated from their homes, mainly from the city of Estepona, an area popular with British retirees and holidaymakers.
Read | Officials say the “uncontrolled” Spanish wildfires were deliberately triggered
Some people told TVE, the Spanish public television station, that the police only gave them a few minutes to leave.
Firefighters said that strong winds, gusts of up to 60 kilometers per hour, dry conditions and steep slopes made it difficult to put out fires.
“The wind is getting stronger and stronger, but fortunately, although they are getting stronger and stronger, which will complicate the fire, they come from the west and keep the fire away from the construction area,” Manuel Manuel, head of the Malaga Firefighters Department Manuel Marmolejo told reporters.
Local officials suspected that the fire might have been caused deliberately because it broke out in several places at the same time.
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