Lisbon, August 2005 (From AFP) - Hundreds of fire-fighters battled several heat-fuelled forest fires that raged across Spain and Portugal amid a severe drought that has dried reservoirs and led to water restrictions in many places. Over 1,700 fire-fighters and soldiers backed by 22 water-dropping aircraft and 359 vehicles were involved in the fire-fighting operation in Portugal, which along with Spain is facing its worst dry spell since the 1940s.

Six large fires were burning out of control in Portugal, including one in the northern Alvao natural park which forced the evacuation of seven mountain villages, the civil protection agency said. Emergency services workers and soldiers took some 230 people from the seven villages to a military barrack in the nearby city of Vila Real where they will spend the night, officials said. The blaze has already destroyed four homes and led police to temporarily close a highway linking the northern cities of Chaves and Vila Real, they added.

Fire-fighters said they suspect arsonists are responsible for the blaze because it appears to have erupted in six different locations within a short span of time on the same night.

Spanish fire-fighters were also battling several wildfires in the eastern region of Valencia, the north-eastern region of Galicia and the northern Castile and Leon regions. In Galicia five wildfires were burning out of control in the provinces of La Coruna and Orense, which borders Portugal. In Valencia seven water-dropping planes and six helicopters along with 12 fire brigades were battling a blaze that raged near the town of Torremanzanas in the coastal province of Alicante.

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