Fire crews battle to stabilize southern Spain wildfire

STORY: The blaze started on Wednesday afternoon on the slopes of Pujerra mountain in the Sierra Bermeja, above the Costa del Sol, a magnet for British tourists on the Andalusia coast, Andalusia's Wildfire Department (INFOCA) said on Twitter.

Hot summer weather and adverse winds are stoking the blaze, it said in a post late on Wednesday.

Emergency services set up tents in the town of 7,000, but most of the evacuees found shelter with relatives or at hotels.

As many as 200 firemen from the department together with 100 military personnel and 50 firefighters from other Costa del Sol towns are battling the fire.