Firefighters and military units are struggling to contain wildfires in northwest and western Spain as a prolonged heatwave intensifies the crisis.

Drone footage shows the aftermath of wildfires that swept through Spain's Galicia region:: Verin, Spain:: The country was battling 14 major blazes driven by high winds and aggravated by heat:: The flames have consumed around 388,

ATHENS, Greece -- Fire crews in Greece, Spain and Portugal raced to contain wildfires on Thursday, taking advantage of calmer winds that slowed the blazes even as much of southern Europe remained at high risk under hot, dry conditions.

Europe’s wildfire crisis intensified as blazes across Greece, Spain, France and Portugal forced thousands to from their homes — killing at least six and consuming over 1 million acres amid record heat and worsening climate conditions.

By David Latona, Susana Vera and Charlie Devereux CONGOSTA, Spain (Reuters) -Extreme heat and strong winds caused "fire whirls" as a blaze burned several houses and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from near a UNESCO-listed national park in northern Spain,

Extreme heat and strong winds caused "fire whirls" as a blaze burned several houses and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from near a UNESCO-listed national park in northern Spain, authorities said on Monday.

Mircea Spiridon, a 50-year-old Romanian man, died in the Spanish region of Tres Cantos while saving an 83-year-old man, the owner of the riding stables razed to the ground in the same fire. The Romanian arrived in Spain 20 years ago.

A second volunteer firefighter has died after battling a wildfire in the northern Spanish province of Leon, while police arrested a man for allegedly starting a separate blaze as the country faced one of its worst summers for fires in 20 years.

Spiridon was one of three people to die in Spain’s wildfires this week, each of them ordinary people who saw the flames and rushed to help.