German firefighters helping to control Spain wildfires

German firefighters helping to tackle the wildfires ravaging much of Spain have been redeployed to the northern Castile and León region after a successful deployment further south, Spanish media reported on Sunday.

The Spanish authorities have despatched them to La Baña, a village north of the Portuguese border, where the flames have been approaching. Some 330 residents have already been evacuated, according to a report in the Leonoticias newspaper.

Public broadcaster TV-Sender RTVE has reported that 14 fires are still burning countrywide.

Previously, 67 German firefighters along with 21 vehicles had been battling fires in Jarilla in Extremadura to the south. Spanish police published a video showing them in Puebla de Sanabria on the way to La Baña.

The situation has eased to some extent, according to the authorities, partly as a result of an end to an extreme heatwave with temperatures soaring well above 40 degrees Celsius.

The current situation is worst in the north-west, where the German firefighters will help their Spanish counterparts until Tuesday.

This month, Spain and Portugal have experienced the worst wildfires in years, with at least eight people dying. According to initial estimates from the European Forest Fire Information System, around 6,840 hectares have been destroyed.