The wildfires that broke out in forested areas around the Spanish capital at the height of the summer holidays have forced some 60,000 people to flee their homes, often with just minutes' notice, leaving pets and medicine behind. "You run to save what you can and then you turn to defend" against the fire, said Karim Benali, 39, a volunteer who spoke to AFP on a road near Navaluenga, west of Madrid.

"There were some 48 homes here, they burned", he said, surrounded by charred earth and trees blanketed with a persistent smell of smoke. The fires have been feeding on forests left tinder-dry by successive heatwaves and lack of rain since May. Overnight, lower temperatures, weaker winds and higher air humidity helped make progress against the blazes west of the capital, the Madrid regional government said.

The flames have "slowed their advance" during the night, it said, urging residents to remain "extremely cautious". "The situation has improved slightly, but the fire is still active", it said. But with humidity levels set to drop and temperatures soar across Spain, hitting 40C in the center and south according to meteorological agency AEMET, firefighters face a small window of opportunity. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters on Monday that "today and tomorrow are absolutely decisive days" to control the fires, "because from Wednesday the weather forecasts become highly unfavourable for firefighting efforts". "The next two days will not bring the most favourable conditions, nor the ones we would have wanted, but they are two days in which we can take the initiative, make progress, and work towards controlling and containing the blaze." AEMET said that from Tuesday onwards the fire risk would "surge to very high or extreme levels across almost the entire country". "This situation will persist, or may even worsen, in the following days", it added. (Bssnews)