Rajoy confirms Galicia fires 'deliberately started'

They were ignited in at least 200 places and, although some are under control, between 30 and 80 fires have been burning at any one time since Wednesday, with 14 of them posing an extreme danger to the population.

Some have joined up with the northern end of Portugal's 300 fires and have even jumped the river Miño for the first time in known history, the water course that separates Galicia from the neighbouring country to the south.

Four people have died – two women, thought to be pensioners, trapped on the road in their van by flames in Nigrán (Pontevedra province) as they tried to drive away from the danger area, plus two men on separate occasions attempting to put out flames near their property.

Rajoy has given instructions to the Guardia Civil and National Police to 'multiply their efforts' to catch the culprits, saying: “This is no coincidence.”

Regional president of Galicia, also on the PP – like Rajoy – Alberto Núñez Feijoo, has come under fire from residents for having slashed forestry brigadiers' jobs recently, meaning resources are more scarce than usual.

But Feijoo insists the emergency response team is up to the job.

Rajoy, speaking today (Monday) in Pazos de Borbén (Pontevedra province), in his native region of Galicia, said that in the early hours of the morning in the same town, a fire started in five different places was found.

“I consider that impossible to be fortuitous under normal circumstances,” he told reporters.

Rajoy has given his condolences on the part of the government to the families and friends of the four dead, and also those of the 31 who have perished so far in Portugal.

So far, the president reveals, 700 members of the Armed Forces emergency unit are on the ground and at least 10 planes and helicopters.

Hydroplanes and helicopters cannot work on forest fires at night, meaning the high winds have been exacerbating the catastrophe overnight.

Rajoy says the situation in the provinces of Pontevedra and A Coruña are 'better than yesteday', but that in the former's university city of Vigo, unprecedented scenes have been posted on Twitter by those close to the devastation: flames gushing down the main Avenida de la Florida, taking hold in the built-up O Castro neighbourhood, and melting advertising boards in the central Plaza de España.

Residents' efforts, through forming a human chain to pass buckets of water down the street, have brought the inferno in O Castro under control since last night.

Police say it is 'extremely rare' for wildfires to take hold in urban areas, especially to the extent seen in Vigo.

Rajoy has visited the emergency control centre in Pazos de Borbén to check how the ground forces are coping, and taken part in a minute's silence outside the National Police station for those who have lost their lives.

In addition to those killed, dozens have been treated for burns and smoke inhalation, and many more are believed to have lost their homes.

If the culprits are caught, they could face prison sentences of 20 years just for starting the fires, which are likely to be extended even further if they are found guilty of four counts of manslaughter.

The maximum custodial term that can be served in Spain is 30 years, although exemplary sentences can run into several millennia.

Criminals also have to pay their victims compensation and hand over fines in addition to their sentences in Spain, and the bill is likely to run into millions for the costs of tackling the fires and keeping residents safe and housed, as well as damages to all those affected.