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.
GettyMembers of Spanish Military Emergencies Unit try to control the blaze[/caption]
GettyA forest brigadier uses a hose to extinguish flames during a wildfire in Ribadavia[/caption]
ReutersA cloud forms as smoke rises from the wildfires[/caption]
Spain is having to call in international reinforcements as the blazes continue to devastate the country.
The disastrous infernos have taken a devastating human toll.
Four people have sadly died in the blazes, including one firefighter – with more seriously injured.
Three of six people hospitalised in Leon and Zamora remain in critical condition.
The same number are in serious condition, according to the Regional Government of Castilla y Leon.
A 56-year-old woman has burns to 48% of her body, a 36-year-old man has 50% and a 64-year-old man has 35%.
The inferno continues to relentlessly tear through the northwest and west of Spain.
Ten towns near the Picos de Europa have been evacuated due to the direct threat of the flames.
The number of hectares razed across Spain now exceeds 160,000 and threats to the rich natural heritage continue.
In Ourense alone, wildfires have devastated 58,500 hectares – which makes it the worst forest disaster in the province so far this summer.
Several fires remain out of control, including those in Chandrexa de Queixa and Vilariño de Conxo.
In Castilla y León, blazes have been reported in Zamora, León, Salamanca and Ávila – totalling to nearly 28 active fires.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the Military Emergency Unit has been fully deployed – with thousands battling the flames.
But she added they have “not seen anything like it in its 20 years of existence”.
The Spanish government has accepted support from Germany, Slovakia and the Netherlands.
Reinforcement have also been sent by France and Italy through the European Civil Protection Mechanism.
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