<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Firefighters from Spain and France succeeded on Saturday in containing a wildfire near the countries' shared Mediterranean coastal border, after winds dropped enough to allow water bomber planes to fly.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But officials in the souther region of Andalucia, further to the west, said firefighters were battling another blaze Saturday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An official from the Catalonia regional government said on Saturday afternoon the fire had stopped spreading and the evacuation order hand been lifted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Residents should still stay at home and avoid unnecessary travel, officials said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Around 300 firefighters from Catalonia and a dozen French fire engine crews teamed up to tackle the blaze.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Fire in Andalusia -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier on Saturday the flames had come dangerously close to houses in the Llanca area south of Portbou.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regional authorities said an investigation was underway into the cause of the fire.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But authorities in the southern region of Andalusia along the Mediterranean coast said 150 firefighters were battling a new blaze Saturday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They were contending with high temperatures and strong winds that had forced around 70 people to evacuate, Spanish media reported.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other residents near the city of Huelva are being urged to remain in their homes, as 17 planes and helicopters were deployed to help fight the blaze in the wooded area, where two main roads had been closed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year, some 500 wildfires laid waste to more than 300,000 hectares in Spain, a record for Europe, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To date this year has seen some 70,000 hectares destroyed, according to Effis. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>