The Albany Gazette - Firefighters contain wildfire near Spanish-French border

More than 130 people had been evacuated from several villages overnight as strong winds fanned the flames around Portbou, a hilly forested area on the Spanish side of the border that is popular with tourists.

Spanish forestry rangers said the fire, which started on Friday, had destroyed around 573 hectares (1,400 acres) of land around Portbou, which has a cross-border rail service to France.

An official from the Catalonia regional government said on Saturday afternoon the fire had stopped spreading and the evacuation order hand been lifted.

Residents should still stay at home and avoid unnecessary travel, officials said.

Around 300 firefighters from Catalonia and a dozen French fire engine crews teamed up to tackle the blaze.

They said winds had dropped sufficiently to allow water bombers and helicopters to intervene but could not say how long it could take to bring the fire completely under control.

Weather forecasters said winds would pick up again in the evening, after gusting at up to 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour on Friday night.

Earlier on Saturday the flames had come dangerously close to houses in the Llanca area south of Portbou.

Rail services were restarted between Portbou and Figueras to the south and power was restored to up to 4,000 homes on Saturday, Catalan civil protection officials said.

Regional authorities said an investigation was underway into the cause of the fire.

To date this year has seen some 70,000 hectares destroyed, according to Effis.

(P.Werner--BBZ)