Hundreds fight large wildfire north of Madrid

More than 600 firefighters and troops, supported by 29 aircraft, battled a large wildfire north of Madrid for a sixth day on Tuesday.

Authorities said the fire in Guadalajara province, about 100 kilometers north of the Spanish capital, was one of the most difficult they had faced. About 1,200 people have fled their homes, and the flames have devastated 29,000 hectares, or 70,000 acres, of land.

Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano Garcia-Page said firefighters had "practically stopped" the fire's advance toward the town of Soria, but that the blaze was still not under control.

The fire started on Thursday in an isolated forest and spread quickly across nearby hills. Authorities said it had been hard to control because the area has few people, large areas of abandoned scrub land and severe drought.

Firefighters said 34 isolated hamlets had been evacuated across Castilla-La Mancha. In addition to the 1,200 people ordered from their homes, people in 14 other districts had been told to stay indoors and keep away from the flames.

Temperatures are rising again in Spain, which saw a wildfire on July 9 that killed 13 people.