Hundreds of firefighters battled fresh wildfires in Portugal and Spain on Saturday, civil protection authorities said, following a summer of devastating blazes in the region.

The biggest fire raged in Seia, central Portugal, where 600 firefighters were deployed to tackle the flames, fanned by strong winds, and several roads had to be closed, the civil protection agency said.

The priority was "to protect homes", the Lusa news agency quoted a civil protection spokesperson as saying. Police said had they arrested a person suspected of starting the fire.

In Spain, authorities confined the small village of Castromil in the northwest as a precaution on Saturday due to a nearby fire.

The area was hit hard by a wave of devastating fires in August. One fire there revived on Saturday due to st

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