HORROR HOLS BLAZE
Brit holiday warning as huge wildfires hit Marbella with THOUSANDS evacuated from homes and resorts while army rushes in
THOUSANDS of people including British tourists have been evacuated from their homes as massive wildfires hit Spain's Costa del Sol.
The army has rushed in to help as the inferno rages across the hills near Marbella at a rate of 30 metres every minute.
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The entire village of Benahavis and many surrounding areas have been evacuated by cops - including Montemayor, an area popular with British expats and holiday home owners.
The forced evacuation is thought to have affected Torre Tremores - the holiday home on the outskirts of Benahavis where Prime Minister Boris Johnson stayed last year on a family holiday.
The PM and his wife Carrie stayed in the £25,000-a-week exclusive villa - owned by Zac Goldsmith - in October last year.
The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed the only road into the village from the coast had been shut after officers drove around with loudspeakers and ordered everyone out of their homes and hotels.
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At least three firefighters have been hurt in the operation to battle the blaze, including one who suffered 25 per cent all over body burns.
Pictures from nearby Marbella - one of the most famous resorts in the Costa Del Sol - show the nearby hills ablaze with flames.
Hotels in the under threat area have also been evacuated, with photos show the Civil Guard clearing out tourists.
Around 3,000 people have been evacuated so far - with many forced to sleep overnight in their cars.
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And British tourists have been put up in emergency accommodation in nearby San Pedro de Alcantara on the coast.
British expat Natalie Guyan, 42, from Benahavis, told : "At 11pm we were told to abandon our house.
"People were panicking and rushing to leave Benahavis, it was crazy.
"We heard there is someone left behind in their home because they don't have a car."
She slammed the local government for "having no provisions for something like this which happens every year".
Some 140 firefighters, six fire trucks, and 17 planes and helicopters have been deployed to battle the inferno.
The army has also been brought in to help firefighters tackle the blaze, which has already burnt nearly 5,000 acres of land.
But their heroic efforts are being hampered by 25mph winds which are fanning and driving the flames.
And the flames currently dominate an area which is only accessible by water dropping helicopters and aircraft.
Elias Bendodo, an advisor of the president of the regional Andalucia government, said: "The biggest problem here is the evolution of the wildfire, which is advancing at a speed of around 100 feet per minute. That's very fast indeed.
"The other problem is accessing the source of the blaze."
The wildfire remained “out of control” this morning, but a change in the direction of the wind in the coming hours is expected to improve the situation.
Local authorities have declared an emergency at Level 2 of the Forest Fire Emergency Plan.
Local councillor Scott Marshall said: "It's awful, everyone is out fighting this fire - but with winds of [25mph] it's really hard work."
Videos from the scene shared by firefighters show a huge plume of smoke rising above the hills.
Recent sweltering weather has seen the area under high alert levels for possible forest fires.
Barbeques, bonfires and cars are all banned from being used in forested areas amid fears the region is becoming a tinderbox.
The blaze comes after a devastating wildfire raged through the hills behind Estepona near San Pedro for six days in September last year.
The Sierra Bermeja wildfire led to more than 3,000 people fleeing their homes.
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Firefighter Carlos Martinez Haro, 44, a father of two, died battling the flames.
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