Spain's worst wave of wildfires on record spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountains on Monday and prompted authorities to close part of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System of the European Union, the fires in Spain this year has burned 158,000 hectares (390,000 acres). That's around the size of metropolitan London.

Spain tackled several major wildfires on Tuesday in one of the country's most destructive fire seasons in recent decades, despite temperatures dropping across the Iberian Peninsula. Thousands of firefighters aided by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft fought fires tearing through parched woodland that were especially severe in northwestern Spain,

This year is turning into one of the worst fire seasons in recent memory in Europe. Firefighters are struggling to contain out-of-control wildfires in western Spain and Portugal.

Firefighters in Spain, Portugal and Greece battled ongoing wildfires Friday, an important religious holiday in all three countries, as persistent hot, dry conditions challenged efforts to contain the blazes.

The fires have spread over the regions of Extremadura, Galicia, and Castile and Leon, forcing authorities to suspend rail services and cut access to roads in the area, as well as blocking a 50-kilometre stretch of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail.

Europe’s next heat wave is already building over the Iberian peninsula, potentially testing more temperature records after an unseasonably cool start to August.

Spain is deploying a further 500 soldiers to battle wildfires that have torn through parched woodland during a prolonged spell of scorching weather, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Sunday. The decision to add to the more than 1,

Defence minister attributes fires to climate change, heat wave. The Interior ministry said 27 people have been arrested and 92 were under investigation for suspected arson since June.