Spain Fights First Large Scale Forest Fire During Heatwave

The Spanish Ministry Of Defence have sent 285 soldiers to an area in Zaragoza, where a fire has been raging through the pine forest since Tuesday.

The army have been called in to help control the blaze that started after an accident in which a car crashed into a tree. The resulting fire has so far affected 2,200 hectares of pines in the area of Zuera.

High temperatures and gusty winds have hampered the efforts to control the fire. There are an estimated 400 people working to control the blaze, with 16 fire fighting planes being used during daylight hours.

Helicopters are also being used and can be seen lifting water from nearby swimming pools, to drop on the fire.