SPAIN is deploying a further 500 soldiers to battle wildfires that have torn through parched woodland during a prolonged spell of scorching weather, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said.

The decision to add to the more than 1,400 troops already on wildfire duty came as authorities struggled to contain forest blazes, especially in the north-western Galicia region, and awaited the arrival of promised aircraft reinforcements from other European countries.

Firefighters are tackling 12 major wildfires in Galicia, all of them near the city of Ourense, the head of the Galician regional government Alfonso Rueda told a press conference with Mr Sanchez on Sunday.

“Homes are still under threat, so we have lockdowns in place and are carrying out evacuations,” Mr Rueda said. Galicia has been battling the spreading flames for more than a week.

Temperatures in Spain remain high, with national weather agency AEMET saying that the heat in the southern city of Cordoba reached 44.7°C on Saturday.

This year’s forest fires in Spain have burned 390,000 acres, according to the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System. That is equivalent to an area roughly the size of greater London.