Rapid-moving fire engulfs Spain's border with France

A fire on Spain's Mediterranean coast near the French border was spreading rapidly, fed by strong winds and surrounding a popular tourist site.

The blaze in the Portbou area on Friday burned around 200 hectares (500 acres) in three hours and could spread over 400 hectares, Catalan officals said in a statement.

The Catalan fire service had ordered people not to leave the village of Colera and a campsite at Sant Miquel, said the region's civil protection service.

The blaze was difficult to extinguish due to the mountainous terrain, senior firefighter Santi Lleonart said in a statement.

Wind delays operations The wind was making operations harder and the fire had developed multiple fronts that could spread further, while firefighters had not yet reached isolated pockets that were burning, he added.

Portbou, near the Franco-Spanish border, also has a major railway station used by both countries' networks.

The road leading to the site has been closed to private vehicles to facilitate the movement of firefighters tackling the blaze.

Every summer Colera sees its 500-strong population boosted by an influx of tourists headed for the Spanish beaches. Sant Miguel campsite has a capacity of 720, according to the authorities.

Improvised shelters were prepared in Colera for those trapped in the area overnight. Some 230 firefighters from Spain and France backed by aircraft were fighting the blaze, said the officials.

But a French water-bombing aircraft sent to the zone has so far been unable to operate because of the strong winds, a French fire services spokesman said.

The Spanish meteorological agency Aemet reported winds in the region of up to 50 kilometres (30 miles) an hour. Spain is experiencing a less destructive summer of wildfires than in 2022, when more than 300,000 hectares were devastated, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.