The forest fire near the town of Turre in the Sierra Cabrera, Almería, has now destroyed around 4,000 hectares of scrub land and pine forests.
Some 500 people have been evacuated from their homes as a precautionary measure. The fire is thought to have started at around noon yesterday as the result of a lightning strike during a localised thunderstorm.
Controlling the fire has not been made any easier by strong winds and difficult terrain and the blaze has spread to the flanks.