Spain on heat alert, at 'very high to extreme' fire risk

MADRID, Aug 15 (AFP): All of Spain was on a heatwave alert on Friday, while the weather agency warned that much of the country was at "very high to extreme risk" from wildfires.

Nearly two weeks of high temperatures have left Spain sweltering, and on Friday spread to Cantabria, which has so far been spared from the searing heat.

Temperatures in the northwestern region were forecast to pass 40C, the national meteorological agency, Aemet, said.

The risk of fires on Friday and over the weekend into Monday is "very high or extreme in most of the country", it added.

Spain has endured a devastating season of fires, with 157,501 hectares (389,193 acres) reduced to ashes since the start of the year, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

Yet that figure is still well short of 2022, when more than 306,000 hectares went up in smoke.

Three people have died during the fires, including two young volunteers in their thirties who lost their lives trying to put out a fire in the Castile and Leon area.

On Thursday morning, France sent two water-bombers to help try to douse the flames in the northwestern region, where a dozen fires were still raging.

The railway line between Madrid and the northwestern region of Galicia remained closed as well as some 10 main roads in the country.