Update: 200 evacuated from fire near San Roque

Authorities have been fighting a major fire since the early hours of Thursday morning. Emergency services received over 100 calls from the Sierra del Arca area in the municipality of San Roque, Cádiz.

Two hundred people were evacuated from a campsite in the area and two urbanisations in La Alcaidesa, although throughout the night all have been able to return to their homes.

A full complement of emergency services are on the scene and aerial spotters are being used to monitor the outbreak and look out for fresh fires. 

UPDATE: Sources close to the operation have said that progress to extinguish the fire has been positive, but they are convinced that this blaze, along with previous fires in the area, was started intentionally. Law enforcement agencies have asked for the help of the local community to track down the perpetrator or perpetrators.

The alarm was originally raised at around 10.40pm Wednesday evening in the Sierra del Arca, close to the A-7 motorway, which was closed to facilitate the emergency response. This is not the first time that the zone has suffered from fire damage this summer.

The fire department has a reported 90 personnel on the ground attempting to bring the fire under control.