Even as the heatwave subsided, wildfires across the north of Spain forced repeated evacuations. Nearly 2,000 troops have been deployed nationwide, with support from France, Italy and the Netherlands

Spain is deploying 500 more soldiers to help battle wildfires that have ravaged parched woodlands during a prolonged heatwave, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said.

Spain has endured the worst fire season on record, with devastating blazes continuing to destroy homes and land across the country.

So far, sparsely populated areas have been hardest hit, but thousands of residents have already been evacuated.

The fires have ravaged small, sparsely populated towns in the country's northwest, forcing locals in many cases to act as firefighters. About 2,382 square miles have burned across Spain and Portugal.

Cooler conditions are helping Spanish and Portuguese firefighters tackle deadly blazes that have forced tens of thousands of people to flee over the past two weeks.

VILLANUEVA DE LA SIERRA, Spain, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Spain battled 14 major fires driven by high winds and aggravated by heat on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle flames that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London.

Demonstrations continued in Castile and León against the handling of widespread wildfires, with residents demanding stronger action and greater involvement from Spain’s central government.

The key to preventing forest fires is creating a rural economy based on the use of forests. While this would generate much-needed employment in “la España vaciada” – “hollowed-out Spain”, the name given to the country’s depopulated rural areas – it also costs money. It is therefore essential to invest in forests.

Wildfires raging in northern and western Spain have burned through nearly the same area in the past 24 hours as in all of last year, although the end of a 16-day heatwave and expected rainfall have fanned hopes that an end may be in sight.