So far, sparsely populated areas have been hardest hit, but thousands of residents have already been evacuated.

Spain's weather agency warned the public on Monday to be "cautious" of the "very high or extreme fire danger."

Wildfires raging in northern and western Spain have burned through nearly the same area in the past 24 hours as in all of last year.

This year is turning into one of the worst fire seasons in recent memory in Europe. Firefighters are struggling to contain out-of-control wildfires in western Spain and Portugal.

Every summer, forest fires sweep across Spain, dominating headlines and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. This year's have been especially harsh, with devastating fires thus far in Tarifa,

Joaquín Ramírez of Technosylva, a Spanish company that specialises in prevention and response to wildfires, attributed this year’s litany of fires to “a combination of abandonment of rural areas, abandonment of managing [the land] and the stress exerted on our forest areas”.

FOUR people have died in Spain as ferocious wildfires continue to burn into their ninth day. More than 40 fires are still active, and thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes.

Authorities have evacuated thousands of residents from dozens of villages. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.