A FIRE raged in the historic Fontainebleau forest south of Paris today, prompting evacuations of some residential districts and disrupting train and motorway traffic.

It was among several wildfires in western Europe as the region bakes in its third red-alert heatwave this year.

In Spain, 10 people were still unaccounted from a fire that ripped through the remote southern expatriate community of Los Gallardos last week, killing 13 people including a 93-year-old British national who died in hospital on Sunday.

Two water-dumping planes were deployed to fight the Fontainebleau forest fire, only about 40 miles from Paris, along with hundreds of firefighters, regional fire service spokesman Paul Laurain told France-Info radio.

Trains to and from the Gare de Lyon station in Paris were disrupted on Sunday night but were returning to normal this morning. A section of the busy A6 motorway was closed.

Large fires in southern France have already scorched thousands of acres of land since last week, disrupting the Tour de France cycle race and stretching firefighting resources.

France is experiencing the peak of its third heat wave of the summer, with temperatures surpassing 40°C across western and central areas.