A firefighting helicopter transporting a water bucket heads towards a fire in Ojen, southern Spain, on Aug. 31. Spanish officials say some 4,000 people have been evacuated from their houses as a wildfire abetted by strong winds spread rapidly through hills around the popular southern tourist city of Marbella.

Firefighters work to control a raging forest fire as trees are engulfed in flames next to a road in Ojen, southern Spain, on Aug. 31.

A firefighter stands near the site of a wildfire in Ojen, near the town of Malaga, on Aug. 31. Some 4,000 people were evacuated from the area. More than 250 firefighters on the ground, backed by eight planes and nine helicopters, battled the blaze after hot, dry winds sent it racing through tinder-dry forest in southern Spain.

A light aircraft sprays water with an extinguishing agent over a forest fire along a motorway in Calahonda, Malaga, southern Spain, on Aug. 31. Forest fires continue to expand due to the high temperatures and the fanning wind and forced the evacuation of thousands of people in the Sierra Negra (Black Mountains) the day before on 30 August 2012.

Burnt out land is seen around a house atop a hill after a forest fire in Ojen, southern Spain, on Aug. 31.

Firefighters work to put out a wildfire in Tabuyo del Monte near Leon, Spain, on Aug. 20. Numerous wildfires have broken out across Spain in the sweltering heat in recent weeks, an extra headache for authorities struggling to get the country out of its financial crisis and recession.

A firefighter walks on the road while dark clouds from a wildfire billow behind him in Tabuyo del Monte near Leon on Aug. 20.

Firefighters work to put out a wildfire in Tabuyo del Monte near Leon on Aug. 20.

Firefighters work to put out a wildfire in Tabuyo del Monte near Leon on Aug. 20.

Firefighters work to put out a wildfire in Tabuyo del Monte near Leon on Aug. 20.

A man walks on a path with a shovel while clouds from a wildfire billow behind him in Tabuyo del Monte near Leon on Aug. 20.

Members of the Spanish Army Emergency work on the fire in Torre de les Macanes near Alicante, on Aug. 13. Emergency teams battled through the night to quell the flames in the pine forests around Torre de les Macanes north of Alicante, which claimed their first victim, a member of the firefighting team, on Sunday.

General view of the fire in Torre de les Macanes near Alicante, on Aug. 13.

A member of the Spanish Emergency Army carries a fire hose in Torre de les Macanes during a forest fire near Alicante, on Aug. 13.

Members of the Spanish Emergency Army work to extinguish a forest fire in Torre de les Macanes near Alicante, on Aug. 13.

Firefighters of Alcoy and Elda try to extinguish a fire in Torre de Macanes, near Alicante, Spain, on August 13, 2012.

Firefighters battle a fire in Torre de Macanes near Alicante on August 13, 2012.

A plane works to extinguish a wildfire in La Gomera in Spain's Canary Islands on August 12, 2012.  

People disembark from a ferry after being evacuated from Valle Gran Rey at San Sebastian de la Gomera port on the island of La Gomera on August 13, 2012.

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire in Torre de Macanes near Alicante on August 13, 2012.

A horse walks past a fire ravaged forest in Darnius, Spain, on July 25, after wildfires swept through the region.

A campsite employee stands beside a burned out car in Capmany, Spain, on July 25, after wildfires swept through the region.

Firemen try to extinguish a fire near Figueres, northeastern Spain on July 23, 2012. The fire had been brought under control by Monday morning, but the main roads in the area remained closed.

Firemen arrive to fight a fire next to a mobile home in Avinyonet de Puigventos village, near Figueres, on July 23, 2012.

A car rides on a road close to the fire on July 23, 2012, near Figueres.

Firefighters work to control the fire as the flames are seen near a building in La Jonquera, near the border with France, on July 22, 2012.

A flock of 500 sheep burned by a wildfire in Darnius near La Junquera, close to the Spanish-French border, on July 23, 2012.

Dark clouds of smoke billow from a wildfire over the town of Adeje on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife as members of the Forest Brigade of the National Park of the El Teine (World Heritage) try to control it on July 16.

A man looks on July 16, at a wildfire raging over the town of Tijoco Alto (Adeje) on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife.

Dark clouds of smoke billow from a wildfire over the town of Adeje on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife as members of the Forest Brigade of the National Park of the El Teine (World Heritage) try to control it on July 16.

Photo taken on July 16, shows dark clouds of smoke billowing from a wildfire over the town of Adeje, on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife.

A firefighter carries a hose next to burning trees during a wildfire in Carlet near Valencia, July 1. More than fifty thousand hectares had been burnt in wildfires in the Valencia region since Thursday, according to local media.

A house surrounded on July 2 by burned-out woods in Yatova, Valencia, eastern Spain, after a heavy fire that devastated thousands of hectares of bush and forest. About 2,000 firefighters and soldiers were battling wildfires in the eastern Spanish regions of Valencia and Murcia, where the blaze has destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of vegetation. Media reports estimated the destroyed area at up to 45,000 hectares. Fourteen road links were severed. About 1,500 firefighters were using 45 aircraft or helicopters. Two people were detained on charges of sparking the fires by negligence when installing solar panels and burning stubble.

Two destroyed bicycles in Yatova, Valencia, eastern Spain, on July 2, after a heavy fire that devastated thousands of hectares of bush and forest. About 2,000 firefighters and soldiers are battling wildfires in the eastern Spanish regions of Valencia and Murcia, where the blaze has destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of vegetation. Media reports estimated the destroyed area at up to 45,000 hectares. Fourteen road links were severed. About 1,500 firefighters were using 45 aircraft or helicopters. Two people were detained on charges of sparking the fires by negligence when installing solar panels and burning stubble.

A firemen runs close to a fire burning near the village of Castrelo do Val, in Ourense, northwestern Spain, on March 27, 2012. A firefighter was killed fighting one of the wildfires that have devastated thousands of acres due to drought in northwestern Spain.