Military sent to Galicia to help battle raging wildfires

Nearly 400 soldiers have been dispatched to Ourense and Pontevedra to help fight raging wildfires that have swept across the border from Portugal, authorities said Sunday.

On Saturday evening, four immense blazes reached the Xures National Park after burning nearly 1,500 hectares in the surrounding areas. Galician officials said that at least nine fires were closing in on towns in Ourense and Pontevedra, including Vilariño de Conso and Manzaneda. In Baños de Molgas and Padrene, firefighters began evacuating residents on Sunday morning.

The military's emergency unit (UME) has dispatched 367 soldiers and 92 vehicles to six towns in Ourense and Pontevedra, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The Galician government requested the military's help on Saturday because some small towns have fire squads with less than four or five members, firefighters said.