Spain battles one of its most destructive fire seasons even as its heat wave eases

Spain tackled several major wildfires Tuesday in one of the country's most destructive fire seasons in recent decades, despite temperatures dropping across the Iberian Peninsula.

- AGENCIES MADRID

Thousands of firefighters aided by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft fought fires tearing through parched woodland that were especially severe in northwestern Spain, where the country's weather agency AEMET reported a still "very high or extreme" fire risk — particularly in the Galicia region.

The fires in Galicia have ravaged small, sparsely populated towns, forcing locals in many cases to step in before firefighters arrive.