Over 100 wildfires affecting northern Spain

Over 100 wildfires have been affecting various regions in the north of Spain, regional emergency services confirmed on Monday.

Investigations into the causes of the fire are still underway.

Almost 100 fires were active on Monday morning in the region of Asturias, with members of the Spanish Military's Emergency Response Unit (UME) called in to help combat the flames.

Meanwhile, around 20 fires are still burning in the neighboring community of Cantabria, along with a handful in the Basque province of Vizcaya.

So far there are no reports of injuries, although the major A-8 road into Bilbao was cut for traffic for a period of time.

Around 350 firemen and troops are currently combatting the flames in Asturias, where emergency services have received almost 4,000 phone calls advising of fires over the past 48 hours. Meanwhile the Spanish government have sent two specialist firefighting aircraft and a "Kamov" helicopter to the region.

Regional authorities in Cantabria reported they have had to deal with over 60 "intentionally started" fires which began in the area on Sunday afternoon. 40 of those fires have now been extinguished after firefighters worked through the night, but 21 wildfires in 18 areas still remained active on Monday morning.

The most important fire in the Basque region was close to the town of Muskiz, which is close to the city of Bilbao, as well as an important oil refinery.

Borja Llano, mayor of Muskiz, told local radio that some residents had to be temporarily evacuated from their home due to smoke, but there had never been any threat of the flames reaching the refinery.