Spain deploys military against wildfire, evacuates 2,500

Soldiers were deployed on Sept. 12 in southeastern Spain to join the battle against a major wildfire that is burning for a fourth day, invigorated by stray embers that sparked a new hot spot.

The blaze in Malaga province has destroyed nearly 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of forest and prompted fresh evacuations, bringing the total number of residents displaced to around 2,500.

Plan Infoca, the Andalusia region's agency in charge of firefighting efforts, described Sunday as a "key day" for bringing the blaze under control.

Authorities on Sept. 12 preventively removed nearly 1,500 residents from the towns of Jubrique, Genalguacil and four other villages. Over 1,000 other people had been evacuated before the weekend from areas around the resort town of Estepona, which is popular among tourists and foreign expats.

An emergency brigade traveled from the military base of Moron, in southern Spain, to join more than 300 firefighters and 41 water-dropping aircraft battling the flames.

The reinforcement was welcomed. But firefighters like Rafael Fanega, who said the blaze was still "out of control," called for more boots on the ground to battle the flames.

"I don't see enough deployed personnel," Fanega told The Associated Press, speaking in Jubrique after it was evacuated. "Some may see it differently, but that's how I see it."

Some progress was seen on Saturday, when authorities said better weather conditions had helped them stabilize the perimeter of the blaze, allowing them to focus on four hot spots.

A combination of hot and dry temperatures with strong winds created a perfect storm, turning the blaze that started late Wednesday into a "hungry monster," Alejandro Garcia, deputy operational chief of Plan Infoca,...