Thousands evacuate 12km forest fire near Marbella

Thousands of people near the glitzy Spanish Mediterranean resort of Marbella evacuated Friday from a 12-kilometre (seven-mile) wide forest fire whipped up by hot, dry winds. More than 250 firefighters battled the blaze in southern Spain, backed by eight planes and nine helicopters. "We can say there are thousands of people evacuated, mostly as a precautionary measure," said the Malaga provincial government chief Elias Bendodo. "Homes have been damaged," he added on RNE public radio. The flames broke out in the Sierra Negra mountains Thursday afternoon, later extending across up to 12 kilometres and affecting half a dozen municipal districts including Marbella. "A relative lack of humidity, strong winds and high temperatures in the afternoon helped the fire to grow quickly," said a statement by the regional government of southern Andalusia. After dawn Friday, winds had dropped and the air was humid, helping firefighters to get the flames under the control, the Andalucia government said. "The fire may be stabilized in the next hours," it said. Spain is at particularly high risk of fires this summer after suffering its driest winter in 70 years, and blazes have broken out in various parts of the country in recent days. Flames have destroyed 139,886 hectares (353,665 acres) of land between January 1 and August 12, three times the amount during the same time last year and the highest amount in a decade, according to agriculture ministry figures.