In Spain, About 1/2 Of 48 Forest Fires Contained - 107F N. Of Lisbon - AFP

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MADRID (AFP) - Firefighters waged an uphill battle against forest fires in Spain and Portugal at the weekend, tackling new blazes after bringing dozens of others under control, officials have said.

Thousands of hectares of forest in Spain's northeastern region of Galicia went up in smoke, and a number of blazes were still raging on Sunday, a regional government spokeswoman said Sunday. Twenty-six forest fires were brought under control but another 22 were still active, the spokeswoman said, adding that at least 27 of the blazes had been started intentionally.

Dozens of people were evacuated from the village of Muros, just west of La Coruna, and the area was on high alert as three fires raged there. In northern and central Portugal, some 500 firefighters were deployed early Sunday to battle seven forest fires, three of which had begun overnight in searing temperatures, rescue services said.

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Portugal has been on high alert for forest fires since Wednesday, and Saturday was the worst day of the year, authorities said. The last four summers have seen fires devour some 870,000 hectares (2.1 million acres) of forest land in Portugal. Temperatures were expected to reach 42 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit) in Santarem, north of the capital Lisbon.

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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/06082006/323/fires-rage-northeastern-spain.html